Crowd sourced location determination

ABSTRACT

Techniques and systems for determining locations of devices using location data sources are provided. For example, a network device, method, and computer-program product may be provided. In one example, a method may include receiving, on a computing device, a request to locate a device, wherein the request includes an identifier of the device. The method may further include receiving a communication from the device, wherein the communication includes the identifier of the device, and obtaining a location of the device. The method may further include transmitting the location of the device and the identifier of the device to a server, wherein the server is configured to use the location of the device and the identifier of the device to send a response to the requestor of the request.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/522,034, filed on Jul. 25, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/109,527, filed on Aug. 22, 2018, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,412,542, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/649,324, filed on Jul. 13, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.10,171,939, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/798,734 filed on Jul. 14, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No.10,021,517, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/024,702 filed on Jul. 15, 2014. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/649,324 application is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/958,685filed on Dec. 3, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,712,963, which claims thebenefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/087,700filed on Dec. 4, 2014, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/087,657filed on Dec. 4, 2014. All of these applications are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entireties for all purposes.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to determining a location of one or moredevices. In some examples, techniques and systems are provided fordetermining a location of one or more devices using one or more locationdata sources. In some examples, techniques and systems are provided fordetermining a location of one or more devices using crowd sourcedlocation data.

BACKGROUND

A network may include various devices that are interconnected to otherdevices in the network using wires and/or wireless signals. For example,a local area network may include one or more gateways that providenetwork access to client devices (e.g., network devices, access devices,or the like) by providing wired connections and/or wireless connectionsusing radio frequency channels. As another example, a mesh or ad hocnetwork may include multiple node devices. The node devices relay dataamong the network of nodes until the data reaches a destination.

Determining and/or reporting accurate locations or positions of devicesin certain networks may be difficult using global positioning system(GPS) or cellular based location sources. For example, some devices maynot have GPS or cellular transceiver radio chips, and thus may be unableto receive or transmit GPS and cellular signals. As another example, GPSand/or cellular signals may be inaccurate when received by a devicelocated indoors. Accordingly, devices may be unable to accuratelydetermine and/or report their location, which may prevent the devicesfrom being located and also from performing various otherlocation-related functions.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Techniques are described herein for determining a location of one ormore devices using one or more location data sources. In some examples,a network device may not have access to adequate location data sourcesso that it can determine its location with sufficient accuracy. In suchexamples, the network device may use location information received fromone or more other devices that have access to various location datasources or that can provide other information that can be used todetermine a location of the network device. The network device may usethe location information to determine its location. The determinedlocation may become more and more accurate over a period of time bycontinuously or periodically accessing location information from the oneor more other devices.

The other devices with access to the various location data sources mayinclude other network devices, one or more access devices, one or moregateways, or the like. For example, a network device may determine itslocation using the network device's location relative to one or moreother network devices, the network device's location relative to otherdevices (e.g., access devices, gateways, or the like), Internet protocolgeolocation sources, or the like. In some embodiments, a graphicalinterface may be used to allow a user to indicate a location of adevice. The location of the network device may then be used to performvarious location-related functions. In one example, once the networkdevice determines a sufficiently accurate location for itself, thenetwork device may recognize that an access device is located within acertain proximity from the network device, and, in response, may performa function. Examples of functions that may be performed may include, butare not limited to, turning a light on or off, turning a water faucet onor off, opening or closing a garage door, turning spinklers on or off,or the like.

In some examples, a network device may store location informationcorresponding to its determined location. For example, the networkdevice may store global positioning system (GPS) coordinates or alatitude-longitude position of the network device's position. In someembodiments, a network device may transmit its stored locationinformation so that other devices can use the location information todetermine their own locations. For example, the network device maybroadcast its location information in a beacon frame, or in some othercommunication that can broadcast the network device's locationinformation to one or more other devices within or outside of thenetwork device's network.

According to at least one example, a network device may be provided thatincludes one or more processors and a receiver configured to receivelocation information of an access device, wherein the locationinformation includes location coordinates of the access device, andreceive a signal from the access device. The network device furtherincludes a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium containinginstructions which when executed on the one or more data processors,cause the one or more processors to perform operations includingdetermining a location of the network device, wherein the location ofthe network device is determined using the location information of theaccess device and the signal received from the access device. Thenetwork device further includes a storage device configured to store thelocation of the network device.

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method may be provided thatincludes receiving, on a network device, location information of anaccess device, wherein the location information includes locationcoordinates of the access device. The method further includes receiving,on the network device, a signal from the access device, and determininga location of the network device, wherein the location of the networkdevice is determined using the location information of the access deviceand the signal received from the access device. The method furtherincludes storing, on the network device, the location of the networkdevice.

In some embodiments, a computer-program product tangibly embodied in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of a first network devicemay be provided. The computer-program product may include instructionsconfigured to cause one or more data processors to: receive locationinformation of an access device, wherein the location informationincludes location coordinates of the access device; receive a signalfrom the access device; determine a location of the network device,wherein the location of the network device is determined using thelocation information of the access device and the signal received fromthe access device; and store the location of the network device.

In some embodiments, the method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include a transmitter configured totransmit the location of the network device. In some embodiments, thelocation of the network device is transmitted in a beacon, and whereinthe beacon includes a service set identification associated with thenetwork device.

In some embodiments, the location coordinates include global positioningcoordinates of the access device.

In some embodiments, the receiver is further configured to receive asignal from an additional network device, and the method, computingdevice, and computer-program product described above may further includeinstructions which when executed on the one or more data processors,cause the one or more processors to perform operations includingdetermining a signal strength of the signal, and determining thelocation of the network device using the signal strength of the signal.

In some embodiments, the receiver is further configured to receiveupdated location information of the access device, wherein the updatedlocation information of the access device is updated over time usingsensor information of the access device. The method, computing device,and computer-program product described above may further includeinstructions which when executed on the one or more data processors,cause the one or more processors to perform operations includingdetermining an updated location of the network device, wherein theupdated location of the network device is determined using the updatedlocation information. In some embodiments, the method, computing device,and computer-program product described above may further includeinstructions which when executed on the one or more data processors,cause the one or more processors to perform operations includingdetermining a layout of a venue in which the network device is located,wherein the layout is estimated using the updated location information.

In some embodiments, the receiver is further configured to receivesignal strengths of other signals received by other network devices fromthe access device. The method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include instructions which whenexecuted on the one or more data processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations including determining a signal strengthof the signal received from the access device, performing triangulationusing the signal strength of the signal and the signal strengths of theother signals, and determining the location of the network device usinga result of the triangulation.

In some embodiments, the method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include instructions which whenexecuted on the one or more data processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations including performing triangulationusing the location coordinates of the access device, and determining thelocation of the network device using a result of the triangulation.

In some embodiments, the method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include instructions which whenexecuted on the one or more data processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform a site survey to determine an existence of one ormore gateways. The receiver is configured to receive identificationinformation of the one or more gateways, a transmitter is configured totransmit the identification information of the one or more gateways, andthe receiver is further configured to receive location informationassociated with the one or more gateways. The method, computing device,and computer-program product described above further includesinstructions which when executed on the one or more data processors,cause the one or more processors to determine the location of thenetwork device using the location information associated with the one ormore gateways.

In some embodiments, the method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include instructions which whenexecuted on the one or more data processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations including determining an internetprotocol address of a gateway, and determining the location of thenetwork device using the internet protocol address of the gateway.

In some embodiments, the receiver is further configured to receiveglobal positioning system location information. The method, computingdevice, and computer-program product described above may further includeinstructions which when executed on the one or more data processors,cause the one or more processors to perform operations includingvalidating the location of the network device using the globalpositioning system location information.

In some embodiments, the receiver is further configured to receive agateway signal from a gateway. The method, computing device, andcomputer-program product described above may further includeinstructions which when executed on the one or more data processors,cause the one or more processors to perform operations includingdetermining a signal strength of the gateway signal, and determining thelocation of the network device using the signal strength of the gatewaysignal.

In some examples, a network device may be provided that includes one ormore processors and a non-transitory machine-readable storage mediumcontaining instructions which when executed on the one or more dataprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform operationsincluding providing for display an icon of a network device. The devicefurther includes a receiver configured to receive input corresponding toa position of the network device. The device further includes atransmitter configured to transmit the position to the network device,wherein a location of the network device is determined using theposition.

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method may be provided thatincludes providing for display, by a computing device, an icon of anetwork device. The method further includes receiving inputcorresponding to a position of the network device, and transmitting theposition to the network device, wherein a location of the network deviceis determined using the position.

In some embodiments, a computer-program product tangibly embodied in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of a first network devicemay be provided. The computer-program product may include instructionsconfigured to cause one or more data processors to: provide for displayan icon of a network device; receive input corresponding to a positionof the network device; and transmit the position to the network device,wherein a location of the network device is determined using theposition.

In some embodiments, the method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include providing for display a mapof a venue in which the network device is located, wherein the icon ofthe network device is provided for display by overlaying the icon on themap.

In some embodiments, the method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include providing for display alayout of the venue in which the network device is located, wherein thelayout of the venue is provided for display by overlaying the layout onthe map.

In some embodiments, the position is used to update the location of thenetwork device. In some embodiments, the input corresponding to theposition of the network device includes a drag-and-drop operation, andwherein the drag-and-drop operation includes dragging the icon of thenetwork device to the position. In some embodiments, the inputcorresponding to the position of the network device includes a pin-dropoperation, and wherein the pin-drop operation includes dropping a pin atthe position.

Techniques are also described herein for determining a location of adevice or object using crowd sourced location data. In some examples, anetwork of location devices may be used to locate an object locatedremotely from a user that desires that the object be located. The objectmay be unable to communicate directly with a client device of the user.The object may also be unable to determine its own location and/ortransmit its location to the client device of the user from the remotelocation. Accordingly, the network of location devices may be used tolocate the object, and to communicate the location of the object back tothe client device of the user. The network of location devices and theclient device of the user may be in communication with a network server.The network of location devices may report the location of the object tothe network server. The network server may then report the location ofthe object to the client device of the user.

In some examples, a user may make a location request using a clientdevice in order to locate an object that has been misplaced. A devicemay be part of or integrated with the object to allow the object to belocated. The request may be transmitted to a network server, and thenetwork server may identify one or more location devices in which tosend the request. For example, the network server may identify one ormore location devices based on a geographical area or region identifiedby the user. The network server may transmit the request to anidentified location device. The location device may receive acommunication from the device that is included with the object. Thelocation device may obtain the location of the object. The communicationmay include an identifier that identifies the device and/or object sothat the location device obtains the location of the correct object. Thelocation device and/or the network server may also transmit the requestto other location devices that may also be configured to obtain thelocation of the device included with the object. The location devicesmay send locations of the object back to the network server. Usinglocation information of the object received from a group of the locationdevices, the network server may respond to the user's request with anaccurate location of the object. For example, the network server mayallow the user to track movement of the object as the object moves todifferent locations. In some embodiments, a location device may report alocation of the object without receiving a request from the networkserver. For example, any location device that receives the communicationfrom the device may obtain the object's location, and may transmit thelocation back to the network server. The network server may store thelocation information of the object in the event a user requests locationof the object.

According to at least one example, a computing device may be providedthat includes one or more data processors and a receiver configured toreceive a request to locate a device, wherein the request includes anidentifier of the device. The receiver is further configured to receivea communication from the device, wherein the communication includes theidentifier of the device. The computing device further includes anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium containing instructionswhich when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one ormore processors to perform operations including obtaining a location ofthe device. The computing device further includes a transmitterconfigured to transmit the location of the device and the identifier ofthe device to a server, wherein the server is configured to use thelocation of the device and the identifier of the device to send aresponse to a requestor of the request.

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method may be provided thatincludes receiving, on a computing device, a request to locate a device,wherein the request includes an identifier of the device. The methodfurther includes receiving a communication from the device, wherein thecommunication includes the identifier of the device, and obtaining alocation of the device. The method further includes transmitting thelocation of the device and the identifier of the device to a server,wherein the server is configured to use the location of the device andthe identifier of the device to send a response to the requestor of therequest.

In some embodiments, a computer-program product tangibly embodied in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of a first network devicemay be provided. The computer-program product may include instructionsconfigured to cause one or more data processors to: receive a request tolocate a device, wherein the request includes an identifier of thedevice; receive a communication from the device, wherein thecommunication includes the identifier of the device; obtain a locationof the device; and transmit the location of the device and theidentifier of the device to a server, wherein the server is configuredto use the location of the device and the identifier of the device tosend a response to the requestor of the request.

In some embodiments, the transmitter is configured to transmit therequest to locate the device to one or more devices within ageographical area, wherein the transmitted request includes theidentifier of the device.

In some embodiments, the request is received as a broadcast request thatis receivable by the one or more devices within the geographical area.

In some embodiments, the method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include instructions which whenexecuted on the one or more data processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations including determining the location ofthe device using the communication received from the device.

In some embodiments, the receiver is configured to receive the locationof the device from the device, wherein the location is determined by thedevice. In some embodiments, the location is determined by the deviceusing signals received from one or more location devices.

In some embodiments, the computing device includes an access device. Insome embodiments, the computing device includes a network device. Insome embodiments, the device includes a tracking device.

In some embodiments, the location includes global positioningcoordinates of the device.

According to another example, a network server may be provided thatincludes one or more data processors and a receiver configured toreceive a communication, wherein the communication includes a request tolocate a device, an identifier of the device, and a geographical area tosearch. The computing device further includes a non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium containing instructions which whenexecuted on the one or more data processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations including determining a location devicethat is present within the geographical area, wherein a location deviceis configured to obtain a location of one or more devices within thegeographical area. The computing device further includes a transmitterconfigured to transmit the request and the identifier of the device tothe location device. The receiver is configured to receive a location ofthe device from the location device, and the transmitter is configuredto transmit the location of the device to a requestor of the request

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method may be provided thatincludes receiving, on a network server, a communication, wherein thecommunication includes a request to locate a device, an identifier ofthe device, and a geographical area to search. The method furtherincludes determining a location device that is present within thegeographical area, wherein a location device is configured to obtain alocation of one or more devices within the geographical area. The methodfurther includes transmitting the request and the identifier of thedevice to the location device, receiving a location of the device fromthe location device, and transmitting the location of the device to therequestor of the request.

In some embodiments, a computer-program product tangibly embodied in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of a first network devicemay be provided. The computer-program product may include instructionsconfigured to cause one or more data processors to: receive acommunication, wherein the communication includes a request to locate adevice, an identifier of the device, and a geographical area to search;determine a location device that is present within the geographicalarea, wherein a location device is configured to obtain a location ofone or more devices within the geographical area; transmit the requestand the identifier of the device to the location device; receive alocation of the device from the location device; and transmit thelocation of the device to the requestor of the request.

In some embodiments, the transmitter is configured to transmit therequest as a broadcast request that is receivable by a plurality oflocation devices within the geographical area.

In some embodiments, the method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include instructions which whenexecuted on the one or more data processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations including determining whether therequestor is authorized to locate the device, wherein determiningincludes generating a signature using a key associated with therequestor.

In some embodiments, the transmitter is configured to transmit therequest to the location device, and the receiver is configured toreceive the location of the device from an additional location devicewithin the geographical area, wherein the request is transmitted fromthe location device to the additional location device.

According to another example, a computing device may be provided thatincludes one or more data processors and a transmitter configured totransmit a tracking signal, wherein the tracking signal includes anidentifier of the computing device. The computing device furtherincludes a receiver configured to receive a response, wherein theresponse includes location information of a device. The computing devicefurther includes a non-transitory machine-readable storage mediumcontaining instructions which when executed on the one or more dataprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform operationsincluding determining a distance between the computing device and thedevice and determining a location of the computing device using thelocation information and the determined distance. The transmitter isconfigured to transmit the location of the computing device and theidentifier to the device, wherein the device is configured to send thelocation of the computing device and the identifier to a network server.

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method may be provided thatincludes transmitting, from a computing device, a tracking signal,wherein the tracking signal includes an identifier of the computingdevice. The method further includes receiving a response, wherein theresponse includes location information of a device, determining adistance between the computing device and the device, determining alocation of the computing device using the location information and thedetermined distance. The method further includes transmitting thelocation of the computing device and the identifier to the device,wherein the device is configured to send the location of the computingdevice and the identifier to a network server.

In some embodiments, a computer-program product tangibly embodied in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of a first network devicemay be provided. The computer-program product may include instructionsconfigured to cause one or more data processors to: transmit a trackingsignal, wherein the tracking signal includes an identifier of thecomputing device; receive a response, wherein the response includeslocation information of a device; determine a distance between thecomputing device and the device; determine a location of the computingdevice using the location information and the determined distance; andtransmit the location of the computing device and the identifier to thedevice, wherein the device is configured to send the location of thecomputing device and the identifier to a network server.

In some embodiments, the method, computing device, and computer-programproduct described above may further include instructions which whenexecuted on the one or more data processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations including determining that thecomputing device is outside of a communication range with an accessdevice, and transmitting the tracking signal when the computing deviceis outside of the communication range.

In some embodiments, the receiver is configured to receive a pluralityof responses, wherein each response includes location information of asender of the response.

This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolationto determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject mattershould be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entirespecification of this patent, any or all drawings, and each claim.

The foregoing, together with other features and embodiments, will becomemore apparent upon referring to the following specification, claims, andaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described indetail below with reference to the following drawing figures:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example of a venue, in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of another example of a venue, in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a result of one or more distancedeterminations by a device, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of another example of a venue, in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example of a graphical interfacedisplayed on a computing device, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an example of a communication frame, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example of a body of a communicationframe, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process fordetermining a location of a network device, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forobtaining a position of a network device, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an example of an outdoor venue, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of another example of a venue, in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process fordetermining a location of a device, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a process fordetermining a location of a device, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a process fordetermining a location of a device, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forregistering one or more network devices, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 17 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 18 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 19 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 20 is an illustration of an example of a front view of a networkdevice, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 21 is an illustration of an example of a side view of a networkdevice, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 22 is an example of a block diagram of a network device, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a schematic illustration of a local area network including anetwork device that includes an appliance, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 24 is an example of a block diagram of a network device includingan interface device attached to an appliance, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a gateway, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an access device,in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a server, inaccordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofembodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent that variousembodiments may be practiced without these specific details. The figuresand description are not intended to be restrictive.

The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is notintended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of thedisclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodimentswill provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description forimplementing an exemplary embodiment. It should be understood thatvarious changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elementswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

Specific details are given in the following description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments maybe practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits,systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown ascomponents in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodimentsin unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits,processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown withoutunnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as aprocess which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flowdiagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchartmay describe the operations as a sequential process, many of theoperations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition,the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminatedwhen its operations are completed, but could have additional steps notincluded in a figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function,a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination can correspond to a return of thefunction to the calling function or the main function.

The term “machine-readable storage medium” or “computer-readable storagemedium” includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portablestorage devices, optical storage devices, and various other mediumscapable of storing, containing, or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.A machine-readable storage medium or computer-readable storage mediummay include a non-transitory medium in which data can be stored and thatdoes not include carrier waves and/or transitory electronic signalspropagating wirelessly or over wired connections. Examples of anon-transitory medium may include, but are not limited to, a magneticdisk or tape, optical storage media such as compact disk (CD) or digitalversatile disk (DVD), flash memory, memory or memory devices. Acomputer-program product may include code and/or machine-executableinstructions that may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, aprogram, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class,or any combination of instructions, data structures, or programstatements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or ahardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data,arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, etc.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or anycombination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middlewareor microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessarytasks (e.g., a computer-program product) may be stored in amachine-readable medium. A processor(s) may perform the necessary tasks.

Systems depicted in some of the figures may be provided in variousconfigurations. In some embodiments, the systems may be configured as adistributed system where one or more components of the system aredistributed across one or more networks in a cloud computing system.

A network may be set up to provide an access device user with access tovarious devices connected to the network. For example, a network mayinclude one or more network devices that provide a user with the abilityto remotely configure or control the network devices themselves or oneor more electronic devices (e.g., appliances) connected to the networkdevices.

The electronic devices may be located within an environment or a venuethat can support the network. An environment can include, for example, ahome, an office, a business, an automobile, a park, or the like. Anetwork may include one or more gateways that allow client devices(e.g., network devices, access devices, or the like) to access thenetwork by providing wired connections and/or wireless connections usingradio frequency channels in one or more frequency bands. The one or moregateways may also provide the client devices with access to one or moreexternal networks, such as a cloud network, the Internet, and/or otherwide area networks.

A local area network, such as a user's home local area network, caninclude multiple network devices that provide various functionalities.Network devices may be accessed and controlled using an access deviceand/or one or more network gateways. One or more gateways in the localarea network may be designated as a primary gateway that provides thelocal area network with access to an external network. The local areanetwork can also extend outside of the user's home and may includenetwork devices located outside of the user's home. For instance, thelocal area network can include network devices such as exterior motionsensors, exterior lighting (e.g., porch lights, walkway lights, securitylights, or the like), garage door openers, sprinkler systems, or othernetwork devices that are exterior to the user's home. It is desirablefor a user to be able to access the network devices while located withinthe local area network and also while located remotely from the localarea network. For example, a user may access the network devices usingan access device within the local area network or remotely from thelocal area network.

A network device within the local area network may pair with or connectto a gateway, and may obtain credentials from the gateway. For example,when the network device is powered on, a list of gateways that aredetected by the network device may be displayed on an access device(e.g., via an application, program, or the like installed on andexecuted by the access device). In some embodiments, only a singlegateway is included in the local area network (e.g., any other displayedgateways may be part of other local area networks). For example, thesingle gateway may include a router. In such embodiments, only thesingle gateway may be displayed (e.g., when only the single gateway isdetected by the network device). In some embodiments, multiple gatewaysmay be located in the local area network (e.g., a router, a rangeextending device, or the like), and may be displayed. For example, arouter and a range extender may be part of the local area network. Auser may select one of the gateways as the gateway with which thenetwork device is to pair, and may enter login information for accessingthe gateway. The login information may be the same information that wasoriginally set up for accessing the gateway (e.g., a network user nameand password, a network security key, or any other appropriate logininformation). The access device may send the login information to thenetwork device, and the network device may use the login information topair with the gateway. The network device may then obtain thecredentials from the gateway. The credentials may include a service setidentification (SSID) of the local area network, a media access control(MAC) address of the gateway, and/or the like. The network device maytransmit the credentials to a server of a wide area network, such as acloud network server. In some embodiments, the network device may alsosend to the server information relating to the network device (e.g., MACaddress, serial number, or the like) and/or information relating to theaccess device (e.g., MAC address, serial number, application uniqueidentifier, or the like).

The server may register the gateway as a logical network, and may assignthe first logical network a network identifier (ID). The server mayfurther generate a set of security keys, which may include one or moresecurity keys. For example, the server may generate a unique key for thenetwork device and a separate unique key for the access device. Theserver may associate the network device and the access device with thelogical network by storing the network ID and the set of security keysin a record or profile. The server may then transmit the network ID andthe set of security keys to the network device. The network device maystore the network ID and its unique security key. The network device mayalso send the network ID and the access device's unique security key tothe access device. In some embodiments, the server may transmit thenetwork ID and the access device's security key directly to the accessdevice.

The network device and the access device may then communicate with thecloud server using the network ID and the unique key generated for eachdevice. Each network device and access device may also be assigned aunique identifier (e.g., a universally unique identifier (UUID), aunique device identifier (UDID), globally unique identifier (GUID), orthe like) by the cloud server that is separate from the network ID andthe unique security key of each device. Accordingly, the access devicemay perform accountless authentication to allow the user to remotelyaccess the network device via the cloud network without logging in eachtime access is requested. Further details relating to an accountlessauthentication process are described below. Also, the network device cancommunicate with the server regarding the logical network.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a local area network 100. The localarea network 100 includes network device 102, network device 104, andnetwork device 106. In some embodiments, any of the network devices 102,104, 106 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device. As used herein,an IoT device is a device that includes sensing and/or controlfunctionality as well as a WiFi™ transceiver radio or interface, aBluetooth™ transceiver radio or interface, a Zigbee™ transceiver radioor interface, an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) transceiver radio or interface, aWiFi-Direct transceiver radio or interface, a Bluetooth™ Low Energy(BLE) transceiver radio or interface, an infrared (IR) transceiver,and/or any other wireless network transceiver radio or interface thatallows the IoT device to communicate with a wide area network and withone or more other devices. In some embodiments, an IoT device does notinclude a cellular network transceiver radio or interface, and thus maynot be configured to directly communicate with a cellular network. Insome embodiments, an IoT device may include a cellular transceiverradio, and may be configured to communicate with a cellular networkusing the cellular network transceiver radio. The network devices 102,104, 106, as IoT devices or other devices, may include home automationnetwork devices that allow a user to access, control, and/or configurevarious home appliances located within the user's home (e.g., atelevision, radio, light, fan, humidifier, sensor, microwave, iron,and/or the like), or outside of the user's home (e.g., exterior motionsensors, exterior lighting, garage door openers, sprinkler systems, orthe like). For example, network device 102 may include a home automationswitch that may be coupled with a home appliance. In some embodiments,network devices 102, 104, 106 may be used in other environments orvenues, such as a business, a school, an establishment, a park, or anyplace that can support the local area network 100 to enablecommunication with network devices 102, 104, 106. For example, a networkdevice can allow a user to access, control, and/or configure devices,such as office-related devices (e.g., copy machine, printer, faxmachine, or the like), audio and/or video related devices (e.g., areceiver, a speaker, a projector, a DVD player, a television, or thelike), media-playback devices (e.g., a compact disc player, a CD player,or the like), computing devices (e.g., a home computer, a laptopcomputer, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computingdevice, a wearable device, or the like), lighting devices (e.g., a lamp,recessed lighting, or the like), devices associated with a securitysystem, devices associated with an alarm system, devices that can beoperated in an automobile (e.g., radio devices, navigation devices),and/or the like.

A user may communicate with the network devices 102, 104, 106 using anaccess device 108. The access device 108 may include anyhuman-to-machine interface with network connection capability thatallows access to a network. For example, the access device 108 mayinclude a stand-alone interface (e.g., a cellular telephone, asmartphone, a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable device such as asmart watch, a wall panel, a keypad, or the like), an interface that isbuilt into an appliance or other device (e.g., a television, arefrigerator, a security system, a game console, a browser, or thelike), a speech or gesture interface (e.g., a Kinect™ sensor, aWiimote™, or the like), an IoT device interface (e.g., an Internetenabled device such as a wall switch, a control interface, or othersuitable interface), or the like. In some embodiments, the access device108 may include a cellular or other broadband network transceiver radioor interface, and may be configured to communicate with a cellular orother broadband network using the cellular or broadband networktransceiver radio. In some embodiments, the access device 108 may notinclude a cellular network transceiver radio or interface. While only asingle access device 108 is shown in FIG. 1, one of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that multiple access devices may communicatewith the network devices 102, 104, 106. The user may interact with thenetwork devices 102, 104, or 106 using an application, a web browser, aproprietary program, or any other program executed and operated by theaccess device 108. In some embodiments, the access device 108 maycommunicate directly with the network devices 102, 104, 106 (e.g.,communication signal 116). For example, the access device 108 maycommunicate directly with network device 102, 104, 106 using Zigbee™signals, Bluetooth™ signals, WiFi™ signals, infrared (IR) signals, UWBsignals, WiFi-Direct signals, BLE signals, sound frequency signals, orthe like. In some embodiments, the access device 108 may communicatewith the network devices 102, 104, 106 via the gateways 110, 112 (e.g.,communication signal 118) and/or the cloud network 114 (e.g.,communication signal 120).

The local area network 100 may include a wireless network, a wirednetwork, or a combination of a wired and wireless network. A wirelessnetwork may include any wireless interface or combination of wirelessinterfaces (e.g., Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, WiFi™, IR, UWB, WiFi-Direct, BLE,cellular, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax™, or the like). A wirednetwork may include any wired interface (e.g., fiber, ethernet,powerline ethernet, ethernet over coaxial cable, digital signal line(DSL), or the like). The wired and/or wireless networks may beimplemented using various routers, access points, bridges, gateways, orthe like, to connect devices in the local area network 100. For example,the local area network may include gateway 110 and gateway 112. Gateway110 or 112 can provide communication capabilities to network devices102, 104, 106 and/or access device 108 via radio signals in order toprovide communication, location, and/or other services to the devices.The gateway 110 is directly connected to the external network 114 andmay provide other gateways and devices in the local area network withaccess to the external network 114. The gateway 110 may be designated asa primary gateway. While two gateways 110 and 112 are shown in FIG. 1,one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any number ofgateways may be present within the local area network 100.

The network access provided by gateway 110 and gateway 112 may be of anytype of network familiar to those skilled in the art that can supportdata communications using any of a variety of commercially-availableprotocols. For example, gateways 110, 112 may provide wirelesscommunication capabilities for the local area network 100 usingparticular communications protocols, such as WiFi™ (e.g., IEEE 802.11family standards, or other wireless communication technologies, or anycombination thereof). Using the communications protocol(s), the gateways110, 112 may provide radio frequencies on which wireless enabled devicesin the local area network 100 can communicate. A gateway may also bereferred to as a base station, an access point, Node B, Evolved Node B(eNodeB), access point base station, a Femtocell, home base station,home Node B, home eNodeB, or the like.

The gateways 110, 112 may include a router, a modem, a range extendingdevice, and/or any other device that provides network access among oneor more computing devices and/or external networks. For example, gateway110 may include a router or access point, and gateway 112 may include arange extending device. Examples of range extending devices may includea wireless range extender, a wireless repeater, or the like.

A router gateway may include access point and router functionality, andmay further include an Ethernet switch and/or a modem. For example, arouter gateway may receive and forward data packets among differentnetworks. When a data packet is received, the router gateway may readidentification information (e.g., a media access control (MAC) address)in the packet to determine the intended destination for the packet. Therouter gateway may then access information in a routing table or routingpolicy, and may direct the packet to the next network or device in thetransmission path of the packet. The data packet may be forwarded fromone gateway to another through the computer networks until the packet isreceived at the intended destination.

A range extending gateway may be used to improve signal range andstrength within a local area network. The range extending gateway mayreceive an existing signal from a router gateway or other gateway andmay rebroadcast the signal to create an additional logical network. Forexample, a range extending gateway may extend the network coverage ofthe router gateway when two or more devices on the local area networkneed to be connected with one another, but the distance between one ofthe devices and the router gateway is too far for a connection to beestablished using the resources from the router gateway. As a result,devices outside of the coverage area of the router gateway may be ableto connect through the repeated network provided by the range extendinggateway. The router gateway and range extending gateway may exchangeinformation about destination addresses using a dynamic routingprotocol.

The gateways 110 and 112 may also provide the access device 108 and thenetwork devices 102, 104, 106 with access to one or more externalnetworks, such as the cloud network 114, the Internet, and/or other widearea networks. In some embodiments, the network devices 102, 104, 106may connect directly to the cloud network 114, for example, usingbroadband network access such as a cellular network. The cloud network114 may include a cloud infrastructure system that provides cloudservices. In certain embodiments, services provided by the cloud network114 may include a host of services that are made available to users ofthe cloud infrastructure system on demand, such as registration andaccess control of network devices 102, 104, 106. Services provided bythe cloud infrastructure system can dynamically scale to meet the needsof its users. The cloud network 114 may comprise one or more computers,servers, and/or systems. In some embodiments, the computers, servers,and/or systems that make up the cloud network 114 are different from theuser's own on-premises computers, servers, and/or systems. For example,the cloud network 114 may host an application, and a user may, via acommunication network such as the Internet, on demand, order and use theapplication.

In some embodiments, the cloud network 114 may host a Network AddressTranslation (NAT) Traversal application in order to establish a secureconnection between the cloud network 114 and one or more of the networkdevices 102, 104, 106. For example, a separate secure TransmissionControl Protocol (TCP) connection may be established by each networkdevice 102, 104, 106 for communicating between each network device 102,104, 106 and the cloud network 114. In some embodiments, each secureconnection may be kept open for an indefinite period of time so that thecloud network 114 can initiate communications with each respectivenetwork device 102, 104, or 106 at any time. In some cases, other typesof communications between the cloud network 114 and the network devices102, 104, 106 and/or the access device 108 may be supported using othertypes of communication protocols, such as a Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP) protocol, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) protocol,or the like. In some embodiments, communications initiated by the cloudnetwork 114 may be conducted over the TCP connection, and communicationsinitiated by a network device may be conducted over a HTTP or HTTPSconnection. In certain embodiments, the cloud network 114 may include asuite of applications, middleware, and database service offerings thatare delivered to a customer in a self-service, subscription-based,elastically scalable, reliable, highly available, and secure manner.

Upon being powered on or reset, network devices, access devices, or anyother client devices may be registered with an external network (e.g.,cloud network 114) and associated with a logical network within thelocal area network 100. Details relating to registration of networkdevices are described below with respect to FIG. 16.

It should be appreciated that the local area network 100 may have othercomponents than those depicted. Further, the embodiment shown in thefigure is only one example of a local area network that may incorporatean embodiment of the invention. In some other embodiments, local areanetwork 100 may have more or fewer components than shown in the figure,may combine two or more components, or may have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of components.

Many advantages arise from a client device being able to accuratelydetermine its location. For example, a client device may successfullyperform various location-related functions (as described below) when anaccurate location can be determined. As another example, a client devicemay store and share its location information with other devices,allowing the other devices to use the location information to determinetheir own locations and also to aid in determining locations of otherdevices.

Devices may determine their locations using various location datasources, such as global positioning system (GPS) sources, cellularsources, WiFi™ sources, Bluetooth' sources, Zigbee™ sources, UWBsources, WiFi-Direct sources, BLE sources, or other sources of locationdata. A combination of these location data sources may be used in orderto accurately determine a location. For example, a device may attempt tolocate itself using a combination of satellite-based GPS, cellulartriangulation, and WiFi™ triangulation. When the device is locatedoutdoors under open sky, signals from these location data sources may bereceived without large amounts of distortion or other interference. Whenthe device moves to an indoor or partially indoor venue, the signalsfrom GPS or cellular location data sources may become distorted due tothe signals reflecting and deflecting off of structures and itemslocated in and around the venue. The distortion of the signals may makethe location information received from the location data sourceinsufficient to locate the device with any degree of accuracy (e.g., todetermine when the device is in one room versus the hallway or inanother room). While WiFi™, Bluetooth™, Zigbee™, or other signals may beavailable to the device in the indoor or partially indoor venue, usingthese signals alone may not be accurate enough to determine asufficiently accurate location. Accordingly, in some cases, access tomultiple location data sources may be needed to perform accuratelocation determination.

Some devices may not be equipped with a GPS transceiver radio, acellular transceiver radio, or other transceiver capable of receivinglocation-related data. For example, a network device may be equippedwith one or more of a WiFi™ transceiver radio, a Bluetooth™ transceiverradio, a Zigbee™ transceiver radio, a UWB transceiver radio, aWiFi-Direct transceiver radio, a BLE transceiver radio, or the like, butmay not have a GPS transceiver radio or a cellular transceiver radio. Asa result, the network device may only be able to perform locationdetermination techniques (e.g., triangulation, trilateration, or thelike) using available WiFi™, Bluetooth™, Zigbee™, UWB, WiFi-Direct, orBLE signals. As previously noted, using WiFi™, Bluetooth™, Zigbee™, UWB,WiFi-Direct, or BLE signals alone may not provide a sufficientlyaccurate location determination. Accordingly, techniques and systems areneeded to provide devices that have limited direct access to somelocation data sources with the ability to use location information fromone or more other devices that have access to various location datasources or that can provide other information that can be used todetermine a location of a device. As explained herein, techniques andsystems are provided that can determine the location of a device usinginformation from other devices that have access to one or more locationdata sources or other information useful for determining a location of adevice.

FIGS. 2, 3, and 5 illustrate an example of a venue 200 in which one ormore client devices can determine their locations. The venue 200 mayinclude a local area network. The local area network may be similar tothe local area network 100 described above. Various devices may belocated within and around the venue 200, such as network devices 202,204, 206, 208, 210, an access device 216, and a gateway 212. It shouldbe appreciated that devices other than those depicted may be located inand around the venue 200. Further, the embodiment shown in the figure isonly one example of a venue that may incorporate an embodiment of theinvention. In some other embodiments, venue 200 may include more orfewer devices within or in proximity to it than shown in the figure.

In some embodiments, the network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 mayinclude one or more network devices that allows a user to locally orremotely access, control, and/or configure various other devices.Network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 may be similar to the networkdevices 102, 104, 106 described above with respect to FIG. 1. Forexample, network device 202 may include an IoT device. One example of anetwork device includes an automation switch that may be coupled with anappliance so that a user can access, control, and/or configure theappliance via the network device. One of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that any of the network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 mayinclude any other type of device that can be used to allow remoteaccess, control, and/or configuration of another device.

Access device 216 may be utilized by a user to wirelessly communicatewith any of the network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210. The accessdevice 216 may include any human-to-machine interface with networkconnection capability that allows access to a network. For example,access device 216 may be similar to the access device 108 describedabove with respect to FIG. 1. The user may interact with the networkdevices network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 using an application, aweb browser, a proprietary program, or any other program executed andoperated by the access device 216. In some embodiments, the accessdevice 216 may communicate directly with the network devices 202, 204,206, 208, and/or 210 using Bluetooth™ signals, Zigbee™ signals, WiFi™signals, UWB signals, WiFi-Direct signals, BLE signals, or the like. Insome embodiments, the access device 404 may communicate with the networkdevices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 via the gateway 212 and/or the network214.

Gateway 212 may provide communication capabilities to the access device216 and to the network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 by providingradio signals in order to provide communication, location, and/or otherservices to the devices. The gateway 212 may include a router, an accesspoint, a modem, a range extending device, and/or any other device thatprovides wireless network access among one or more computing devicesand/or external networks. For example, gateway 212 may include a routeror access point providing the local area network of venue 200 withaccess to the external network 210. In some embodiments, the venue 200may include one or more other gateways, such as a range extendingdevice.

The wireless network provided by gateway 212 may be any type of networkfamiliar to those skilled in the art that can support datacommunications using any of a variety of commercially-availableprotocols. For example, gateway 212 may provide wireless communicationcapabilities for a local area network using particular communicationsprotocols, such as WiFi™ (e.g., IEEE 802.11 family standards), or othermobile communication technologies, or any combination thereof. Using thecommunications protocol(s), the gateway 212 may provide radiofrequencies on which wireless enabled devices in the local area networkcan communicate.

The gateway 212 may also provide the access device 216 and the networkdevices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 with access to one or more externalnetworks, such as the external network 214, which may include a cloudnetwork, the Internet, and/or other wide area networks. The externalnetwork 214 may be similar to the cloud network 114 described withrespect to FIG. 1. Gateway 212 is connected to the external network 214(via a wired or wireless connection), and provides the devices withinthe local area network of the venue 200 with access to the externalnetwork 214.

While only five network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, a single accessdevice 216, and a single gateway 212 are shown in FIG. 2, one ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any number of networkdevices, access devices, and gateways may be connected with a local areanetwork in the venue 200.

In some embodiments, one or more of the network devices 202, 204, 206,208, 210 may not be equipped with a transceiver radio configured toreceive and transmit signals for a particular location data source(e.g., a GPS transceiver radio, a cellular transceiver radio, or thelike). For example, one or more of the network devices 202, 204, 206,208, 210 may be equipped with one or more of a WiFi™ transceiver radio,a Bluetooth™ transceiver radio, a

Zigbee™ transceiver radio, a UWB transceiver radio, a WiFi-Directtransceiver radio, a BLE transceiver radio, or the like, but may nothave a GPS transceiver radio and/or a cellular transceiver radio. As aresult, the network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 may only be ableto perform location determination techniques (e.g., triangulation,trilateration, or the like) using available WiFi™, Bluetooth™, Zigbee™,UWB, WiFi-Direct, or BLE signals, which may not alone provide enoughinformation for a sufficiently accurate location determination.

The network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 that do not have GPS orcellular capabilities may receive location information from one or moreother devices that have access to various location data sources or thatcan provide other information that can be used to determine a locationof the network devices. Devices that may have access to location datasources or that can provide such other information may include othernetwork devices 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210, the access device 216, thegateway 212, or other configured devices.

Various techniques may be used by a device to gather locationinformation from one or more other devices to enable the device toaccurately determine its location. In some examples, a network device202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 may determine its location using locationinformation and signals received from the access device 216, and maysupplement the location determination using signals received from one ormore of the other network device 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210. Forexample, network device 202 may receive location information from theaccess device 216, which has access to one or more location datasources, such as GPS and/or cellular location data sources. The locationinformation may include location coordinates of the access device 216(e.g., GPS location coordinates, a latitude-longitude position, or thelike) indicating that the access device 216 is located at point A (FIG.2) or point B (FIG. 3).

Because the access device 216 is located outdoors in the embodimentsillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the access device 216 may accuratelydetermine its location based on signals received from a location datasource, such as a GPS satellite and/or a cellular network server. Forexample, the access device 216 may determine its location by performingtriangulation or trilateration using signals from one or more GPSsatellites. As another example, a server (e.g., a GPS server with whichthe user has a subscription, a server of a cellular or other broadbandnetwork provider, or the like) may perform triangulation ortrilateration using signals from one or more GPS satellites to determinethe location of the access device 216. The server may then transmit thelocation to the access device 216. As yet another example, a cellular orother broadband network provider may maintain a database that includes acorrelation between an identifier (e.g., a media access control (MAC)address, or the like) of known gateways or cell towers and the locationsof the gateways or cell towers. The access device 216 may send a requestto a server of the access provider with a list of identifiers ofgateways or cell towers for which the access device 216 is within range.The server may compare the identifier with the database of knownidentifiers to identify location information identifying the locationsof the gateways and cell towers. The server or access device 216 may usethe location information of the gateways and/or cell towers totriangulate or trilaterate the location of the access device 216. In theevent the server performs the triangulation or trilateration, the servermay send the location to the access device 216. Similar techniques maybe used by other service providers to determine locations of WiFi™gateways (e.g., access points, routers, or the like) using a database ofknown locations of the gateways, which may further be used to determinelocations of other devices (e.g., access devices, other gateways,network devices, or the like) by performing triangulation ortrilateration. In some embodiments, the access device 216 may use acombination of GPS, cellular, or WiFi™ location data sources todetermine, verify, or supplement its location.

Using these various location data sources, the access device 216 maydetermine its location at point A (FIG. 2) and point B (FIG. 3). Theaccess device 216 may then transmit to the network devices 202, 204,206, 208, and/or 210 the location information identifying the locationsfor points A and B. At this point in time, the network devices 202, 204,206, 208, and 210 are aware of the locations of two points in space(points A and B). In order for the network device 202, for example, todetermine its own location, it may need to determine furtherinformation. In some embodiments, the network device 202 may determineits relative distance from other devices, and may use the distanceinformation along with the location information of points A and B todetermine its own location. In some examples, the network device 202 maydetermine its relative distance to one or more of the other networkdevices 204, 206, 208, or 210, its relative distance from the accessdevice 216, and/or its relative distance from a gateway (e.g., gateway212).

For example, the network device 202 may first obtain signals from one ormore of the other network devices 204, 206, 208, or 210 in order todetermine a relative geometry of its position relative to the othernetwork devices 204, 206, 208, or 210. The network device 202 mayreceive signal 224 from network device 210 and the signal 226 fromnetwork device 206. The signals 224 and 226 may be used by the networkdevice 202 to determine the distance of each of the network devices 206and 210 from the network device 202. For example, the network device 202may determine the distance between it and the network device 206 basedon the signal strength of signal 226 received from the network device206. The network device 202 may also determine its distance from thenetwork device 206 by determining the round-trip time (RTT) of a signal(not shown) it sends to the network device 206, which includes the timeit takes for the signal transmitted from the network device 202 to thenetwork device 206 to be received back at the network device 202. Insome embodiments, a combination of the signal strength of a signal(e.g., signal 226) and the RTT of the signal may be used to determinethe network device's 202 distance from the network device 206. Furtherdetails describing techniques for determining a distance using signalcharacteristics are described below.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a result of the distance determinationsby the network device 202. For example, the network device 202 maydetermine that its distance from network device 206 is a distance 1-2,and may determine that its distance from network device 210 is adistance 1-3. The network device 202 may also be aware that the distancebetween network devices 210 and 206 is a distance 2-3. For example,network device 206 may indicate the distance 2-3 to the network device202 in the signal 226 or another signal. Based on these distancedeterminations, the network device 202 may determine that it and thenetwork devices 206 and 210 have a relative geometry in the shape of thetriangle 123. While, at this point in time, the network device 202 isaware of the locations of the access device 216 at points A and B, andalso of its geometry relative to network devices 206 and 210, thenetwork device 202 is not yet aware of its own location in space, whichis illustrated in FIG. 4 as point 1 a. For example, the orientation ofthe triangle 123 is not yet known by the network devices 202, 206, and210. In order to determine that its location is at point 1 a and not atpoint 1 b, the network devices 202, 206, and 210 may determine theirdistances from the access device 216 at points A and B.

The network devices 202, 206, and 210 may use one or more signalsreceived from the access device 216 to determine their distances fromthe access device 216. For example, the network device 202 may determinethe distance between it and the access device 216 at point A using thesignal strength of signal 218 received from the access device 216, basedon the RTT of a signal it sends to the access device 216, or acombination thereof. Signal 318 may be used by the network device 202 todetermine its distance from the access point 216 at point B. Networkdevices 206 and 210 may determine their respective distances from accessdevice using signals 220, 222, 320, and 322.

Referring to FIG. 4, the network device 202 may determine that thedistance from it to the access device 216 at point A is a distance A-1,and that the distance from it to the access device 216 at point B is adistance B-1. Because the network device 202 knows the locationcoordinates (e.g., GPS location coordinates, latitude-longitudeposition, or the like) of points A and B, the distance A-B between A andB can also be determined. As a result, the two vertices A and B of thetriangle AB1 a are known, as well as the distances A-B, A-1, and B-1.However, the location of the network device 202 can be at either of twospots in two-dimensional space, including either location 1 a orlocation 1 b. The network device 202 may determine whether it is locatedat location 1 a or location 1 b by referencing the distance 1-2 or thedistance 1-3. For example, because the network device 102 has determinedthat the distance between it and network device 206 is a distance 1-2,the network device can determine that it is at position 1 a. This is dueto the fact that if the network device 102 were located at position 1 b,the distance between it and network device 206 would be a distance otherthan distance 1-2.

Once the locations of one or more of the network devices 202, 204, 206,208, or 210 are known, other devices on the network (e.g., other networkdevices, access devices, or the like) may determine their locations byperforming triangulation or trilateration using the locations of thenetwork devices 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 and the distances thereto. Asa result, each of the network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 become alocation data source that can be used by another device to determine itslocation. Techniques for storing and sharing location information ofdevices will be described in further detail with respect to FIGS. 9, 10,and 13-15.

Various signal characteristics may be analyzed by the network device 202to determine its relative distance from other devices. For example, areceived signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurement, a receivedchannel power indicator (RCPI) measurement, a round-trip time (RTT)measurement, a combination thereof, or the like may be used to determinerelative distance between two devices. RSSI and RCPI measurements mayindicate the power present in a radio signal received from a device. ARTT measurement may indicate the length of time it takes for a signal tobe transmitted from one device to another in addition to the length oftime it takes for an acknowledgment of that signal to be received.Different techniques may be performed using the signal characteristicsin order to determine corresponding distances, such as a Line-of-sighttechnique, a Hata technique, an Indoor Attenuation technique, creationof environment-specific signal strength maps, or any other appropriatemethod to determine a distance from one device to another. Experimentsmay be conducted in order to determine the correlations between signalcharacteristics and distance. For example, environment-specific signalstrength maps may be calculated to provide a relation between RSSImeasurements and locations.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the access device 216 may move from point B topoint C through a door 228, and then from point C to point D. As theaccess device 216 moves from point to point, new location informationbecomes available at each point along the path 502. Using the newlocation information from access device 216, one or more of the networkdevices 202, 204, 206, 208, and 210 may continuously or periodicallyreceive the location information to determine or update their respectivelocations. In some embodiments, because the access device 216 is locatedindoors between points C and D, GPS and/or cellular signals that areavailable from GPS and cellular location data sources may not beaccurately received by the access device 216 (e.g., due to reflectionsor deflections of the signals off of structures or objects within thevenue 200). As a result, the network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 maynot receive accurate location information from the access device 216when located between points C and D.

In such embodiments, one or more sensors within the access device 216may be used to determine where the access device 216 has traveledrelative to the last point (point B) at which the access device 216 wasoutdoors, which was accurately determined using the GPS, cellular, orWiFi™ location data sources, or a combination thereof, as describedabove. In some examples, the sensors may be used to perform deadreckoning in order to determine a new position of the access device 216based on one or more previous positions. For example, as the accessdevice 216 moves among different points between points C and D, theaccess device 216 may calculate its position by using each previouslydetermined position and advancing that position based upon measurementsfrom the one or more sensors over time. Because the access device 216was outdoors at point B, the location of point B can be accuratelydetermined using GPS or cellular location data sources. As a result, theaccess device 216 can start the dead reckoning calculation using point Bas an accurate reference point. Using point B as a reference point, theaccess device 216 may use the one or more sensors to determine itslocation at each point along the path from points B to C, and frompoints C to D. In some embodiments, the sensors may include anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, magnetometer, a compass, and/or any otherappropriate sensor device. For example, as the user moves the accessdevice 216 from point B to point C, the accelerometer may be used todetermine the distance traveled and the compass may be used to determinethe direction in which the access device 216 is moved.

The access device 216 may transmit the updated location information toany of the network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 continuously,periodically at set intervals of time (e.g., every 0.5 seconds, 1second, 2 seconds, or any other appropriate time), or on demand whenqueried by a network device 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210. The networkdevices 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 may then use the updated locationinformation, as described above, to update their location information.

The location determinations of each network device 202, 204, 206, 208,or 210 may become more accurate over time as more location data pointsbecome available. For example, as the access device 216 moves todifferent outdoor positions, new location information may be gatheredfrom location data sources, such as GPS and cellular location datasources. As another example, new location information determined usingthe sensor may be received from the access device 216 as it movesthroughout the venue 200. The network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210may update their location as more location data points are gathered. Thenetwork devices 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 may be of the type that stayin a same position for long periods of time, leading to even moreaccurate location determinations due to the stationary nature of thedevices. For example, the device may include a home automation switchthat a user couples with a home appliance. In another example, thedevice may include a smart automation device integrated with a garagedoor opener, enabling learning of when and how often the garage dooropens and closes.

In some embodiments, locations of other fixed wireless devices outsidethe envelope of a venue (e.g., venue 200) may be used to furtherstrengthen the location determination (e.g., using triangulation,trilateration, or other location determination technique) of any devicewithin the venue. Furthermore, the locations of these other fixedwireless devices can also be strengthened by allowing users to adjusttheir placement on maps (e.g., using map graphical interface), lookingthem up in municipal or other location databases, triangulating themfrom mobile devices, or the like. In some embodiments, a device maytriangulate using signals from the same devices over multiplefrequencies or protocols, which allows additional data to improveaccuracy.

In some embodiments, other sources of location information may beavailable to determine device locations or to supplement previouslydetermined devices locations. In one example, a network device mayobtain location information while performing a site survey of gatewaysin or around the venue 200. A network device may perform a site surveyduring a configuration process upon being turned on for the first timeor being reset in order to identify a network to join. For example, thenetwork device 202 may perform a site survey to determine the existenceof the gateway 212 and any other gateway that may be in proximity to thevenue 200. The network device 202 may receive identification informationfrom the gateway 212, for example, and may transmit the identificationinformation of the gateway 212 to a network server (e.g., a cloudnetwork server). A database may be maintained by the network and mayinclude location information of various gateways that are locatedthroughout a region. For example, the location information may includean address, GPS coordinates, a longitude-latitude position, or the like.The server may access the database to retrieve location information thatidentifies the location of the gateway 212. The gateway 212 may beidentified by a service set identification (SSID) of its network, by thegateway's 212 media access control (MAC) address, and/or any otheridentifier of the gateway 212. The network device 202 may then receivethe location information associated with the gateway 212, and maydetermine its location using the location information. In someembodiments, the location of the gateway 212 determined using the sitesurvey may be an approximate location within the venue 200, and may notbe accurate to a particular geographical coordinate. The locationinformation of the gateway 212 and any other surrounding gatewaysobtained as a result of the site survey may provide an estimatedlocation for the network device 202. In some embodiments, the locationinformation obtained from the site survey may be used to supplement orenhance a location determined using other location determinationtechniques described herein. In some embodiments, the site survey may beused as an approximate starting location for the network device 202,which may be refined over time using one or more other locationdetermination techniques described herein.

In some examples, a network device may determine its location using anIP geolocation service using an IP address of a gateway (e.g., gateway212). One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that anyidentifier may be used, such as a MAC address, radio frequencyidentifier (RFID), serial number, a universally unique identifier(UUID), a unique device identifier (UDID), a globally unique identifier(GUID), or other identifier. A network device may determine an IPaddress of a gateway, and may transmit the IP address to a networkserver (e.g., a cloud network server). A database may be maintained bythe network and may include location information of various devices thatare located throughout a region. The network server may query thedatabase using the IP address to determine the location of the gateway.In one example, the network device 202 may determine an IP address ofgateway 212. The network device 202 may transmit the IP address to thenetwork server, which may query the database to determine the locationof the gateway 212. The network device 202 may receive locationinformation identifying the location of the gateway 212, and may thendetermine its location using the location information. In someembodiments, the location information obtained from the geolocationservice may be used to supplement or enhance a location determined usingother location determination techniques described herein. In someembodiments, the geolocation service may be used as an approximatestarting location for the network device 202, which may be refined overtime using one or more other location determination techniques describedherein.

In some embodiments, one or more motion sensors or cameras (not shown)located in the venue 200 may be used to determine a location of adevice. For example, a camera with a trapezoidal lens may be able tocapture images of a large portion of the venue. The camera may processthe images itself, or may transmit the images to one or more otherdevices on the network for processing (e.g., network devices 202, 204,206, 208, 210, access device 216, gateway 212, or any other devicecapable of performing image analysis). The camera or other device(s) mayprocess the images in order to determine where different devices arelocated throughout the venue. In some cases, the location informationobtained from the captured images may be used to supplement or enhance alocation determined using other location determination techniquesdescribed herein. In some cases, the location determined using thecaptured images may be used as an approximate starting location for adevice (e.g., network device 202), which may be refined over time usingone or more other location determination techniques described herein.

In some embodiments, a location determined using one or more of thelocation determination techniques described above may be verified orcorrected using information obtained from one or more location datasources. For example, an IP address location can be verified when GPSlocation information becomes available from another device, such asaccess device 216.

In some embodiments, a network device, an access device, or other devicemay determine a layout of the venue 200. For example, one or moresensors within the access device 216, such as the sensors describedabove (e.g., a gyroscope, magnetometer, a compass, and/or the like), maybe used to perform dead reckoning in order to track the movement of theaccess device 216 over time. In some cases, the access device 216 maygather the sensor data for analysis. In some cases, the access device216 may send the sensor data to a network device 202, 204, 206, 208, or210 for analysis. After a period of time (e.g., a day, a week, a month,or any other period of time), the access device 216 or a network device202, 204, 206, 208, 210 may gather enough sensor data to determine whereit is possible for a user to move within and outside of the venue 200,and may develop a layout or floor plan of the venue. For example, asuser moves the access device 216 around the venue 200 over time, theaccess device 216 and/or network device 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 maydetect a pattern in which the user does not enter certain portions ofthe venue 200. The access device 216 and/or network device 202, 204,206, 208, or 210 may determine that these portions of the venue 200 areinaccessible to the user, and may start to develop a layout of the venue200 accordingly. For example, the access device 216 and/or networkdevice 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 may determine that the inaccessibleareas are walls, and may generate the layout to include a floor planwith different rooms separated by the walls.

In some embodiments, an address or other location information associatedwith the venue 200 may be used to associate the layout at the venue's200 physical location. For example, a user may input the address atwhich the venue 200 is located. As another example, one or more locationdata sources described above may be used by the access device 216 or anetwork device 202, 204, 206, 208, or 210 to determine the location ofthe venue 200. In such embodiments, a graphical interface may bedisplayed to a user depicting the venue 200 with its layout. Thegraphical interface may display the venue 200 overlaid on a map using,for example, a commercially available map application or program. Thegraphical interface may further display the various devices that arepresent within the venue 200 at their determined locations. In someembodiments, the graphical interface may allow a user to indicate anapproximate location of a device within the venue 200, described in moredetail with respect to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a graphical interface 600 displayed ona computing device. The computing device may include, for example, anaccess device, a network device, or any other device capable ofdisplaying a graphical interface. The graphical interface 600 may allowa user to indicate an approximate location of one or more devices withina venue, such as the venue 200. For example, the graphical interface 600may include or may use a commercially available map application orprogram, such as Google Maps™, Mapquest™, or the like.

The venue 200 may be overlaid in section 604 of the graphical interface600. For example, the venue 200 may be overlaid on a map. The venue 200may be displayed with a layout so that different rooms or otherpartitions of the venue 200 are displayed. The layout may be determinedusing the techniques described above, such as using a sensor (e.g.,accelerometer, gyroscope, or the like) within an access device. Thegraphical interface may further display icons of the various devicesthat are present within the venue 200, such as icon 602 of a networkdevice. In some embodiments, a device may be displayed at a randomlocation until a specific or approximate location is determined for thedevice, such as using the previously described techniques. In someembodiments, if a location has been determined for a device using, forexample, the previously described techniques, the device may bedisplayed at that location. In such embodiments, the user-indicatedlocation may be used to supplement or replace the previously determinedlocation. While only a single device icon 602 is displayed in thegraphical interface 600, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that any number of devices that are located within the venue200 may be displayed, such as one or more of the network devices 202,204, 206, 208, 210, the access device 216, or the gateway 212. Forexample, all devices within the venue 200 may be displayed in thegraphical interface 600. In another example, devices may only bedisplayed when they are first powered on or reset so that an approximatelocation may be established for the newly powered or reset devices.

The graphical interface 600 may prompt a user in section 614 to selector otherwise indicate an approximate location of a device in the venue.The prompt may be displayed as section 614. In some embodiments, thegraphical interface 600 may prompt the user to indicate the location ofa device upon an icon of the device being displayed. For example, theicon of a device may be displayed when the device is powered on orreset. In some embodiments, the prompt may be displayed in response to auser selecting an icon of a device. For example, any of the networkdevices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 may be displayed in the graphicalinterface 600, and a user may select an icon of network device 202(e.g., icon 602). In response to the user selecting the icon of networkdevice 202, the graphical interface 600 may prompt the user to identifythe location of the network device 202. One of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that other events may cause the prompt to be displayedto the user.

The prompt displayed in section 614 may provide a description to theuser explaining how to identify a location of a device. In some cases,the user may perform a drag-and-drop operation to identify the locationof the device. For example, the user may drag an icon of a networkdevice to the position at which the device is located. In some cases,the user may perform a pin-drop operation. For example, the user maydrop a pin at the position at which the device is located. The user maydrop the pin by performing various operations, such as by touching orotherwise selecting a portion of the displayed graphical interface for apredetermined period of time (e.g., 0.5 seconds, 1 second, or anyappropriate period of time), double clicking the portion of thegraphical interface, touching or otherwise selecting the portion of thegraphical interface with two or more fingers, or the like. In someembodiments, in the event a map application or program is used, theavailable operations that may be performed by the user may be dependenton the map application or program. One of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that any other appropriate operations may be performed by theuser to identify the location of a device.

The graphical interface 600 may display in section 606 a picture 608 ofa displayed device, a name 610 of the displayed device, and a location612 of the displayed device. For example, the network device identifiedby icon 602 may be a home automation switch. A user may select picture608 from a predefined list of pictures to accurately depict the networkdevice identified by icon 602. The user may name the network device sothat it is readily identifiable to perform a particular function, suchas “home automation switch.” The location 612 may be displayed as aspecific portion or room of the venue 200 (e.g., kitchen, bedroom,bathroom, master bedroom, loft, office, file room, print room, or thelike), as a GPS coordinate, as a latitude-longitude position, or thelike.

In some embodiments, the picture 608 and/or name 610 may be used todetermine or estimate a location of a device. For example, the picture608 and/or name 610 may provide details on the type of device. The name610, for example, may include “slow cooker,” implying that the device islocated in a kitchen. The picture 608 may further include a picture ofslow cooker, further implying that the device is located in a kitchen.In some embodiments, the computing device on which the graphicalinterface 600 operates may determine a location of a device using thepicture 608 and/or name 610. In some embodiments, the computing devicemay transmit the information relating to the picture 608 and/or name 610to a server of an external network (e.g., network 114) or another deviceon a local network (e.g., network 100, the network of venue 200, or thelike), and the server or other device may determine or estimate thelocation using the information.

In some embodiments, once the computing device operating the graphicalinterface 600 has received an input by a user indicating the location orposition of a device, the computing device may transmit the informationto another device on the local network (e.g., network device, router, orthe like) or to a network server (e.g., a server in network 114 or 214).For example, the computing device operating the graphical interface 600may include the access device 216. The access device 216, via graphicalinterface 600, may receive the input corresponding to the selection of aposition of a network device (e.g., network device 202, 204, 206, 208,or 210), and may transmit the position information to the networkdevice. The network device may then determine its location using theposition information.

In some embodiments, the position or location indicated by a useroperating the graphical interface 600 may be used as the approximatelocation for a device. For example, a network device may receive theposition information from access device 216, and may accept the positionas its location. In some embodiments, the location indicated by the usermay be used by a device as a starting point for determining a locationof the device. For example, the location indicated by the user may beused by a network device as another data point, in addition to otherdata points obtained by the network device, to determine its location.In the latter example, the location indicated by the user may be used tosupplement a location determined using GPS or latitude-longitudelocation information received from an access device, a locationdetermined using triangulation or trilateration, a location determinedbased on a site survey, a location determined using a geolocationservice, or any of the other techniques described herein.

In some embodiments, the desired accuracy of the location indicated bythe user via graphical interface 600 may be on a room-by-room basis. Forexample, the graphical interface 600 may prompt the user to identify aroom in which a device is located. In such embodiments, other locationdetermination techniques, such as those described above, may be used tofurther refine the exact location of a device in the event a moreaccurate location is desired. In some embodiments, a user may identify amore specific location for a device, such as a particular corner or sideof a room.

Using the above-described techniques, a device may be configured tolearn its location over time, gauge confidence in that location, andengage a user to help in fixing that location with reasonable accuracy,increasing confidence further.

Once a location is determined for the one or more devices in a venueusing any of the techniques described with respect to FIGS. 2-6, forexample, the location may be used to perform various location-relatedfunctions. In one example, once network device 202 determines asufficiently accurate location for itself (e.g., down to a specificroom, such as a bathroom, kitchen, print room, or the like, or down to aspecific portion of a room, or the like), the network device mayrecognize that an access device is located within a certain proximityfrom the network device, and, in response, may perform a function thatis appropriate for its specific location. Various functions may beperformed. For example, a network device may cause a light to beswitched on or off when it determines that an access device has comewithin a particular distance from the network device. In anotherexample, a network device may cause a water faucet to be turned on oroff in response to determining that an access device has entered withina predetermined distance to a faucet. In another example, a networkdevice may cause a garage door to open or close. In yet another example,a network device may cause one or more spinklers to turn on or off. Oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any number offunctions may be performed in response to determining the proximity oftwo devices to one another. Each of these functions may be performedwithout the use of motion sensors or other motion-related devices.

In some embodiments, a device may store location informationcorresponding to its determined location. For example, rather thansimply determining and transmitting its location information to aserver, a device may store its location information so that it can beused by other devices for location determination. For example, thenetwork device 202 may store global positioning system (GPS)coordinates, a latitude-longitude position, or other appropriatelocation information, of the network device 202. In some embodiments, anetwork device may share its stored location information so that otherdevices can use the location information to determine their ownlocations. For example, the network device may broadcast its locationinformation in a beacon frame, or in some other communication, that canbroadcast the network device's location information to one or more otherdevices within or outside of the network device's network. As anotherexample, the network device may transmit its location information (e.g.,in a beacon frame or other appropriate communication) to a specificdevice that requests location information.

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of a communication frame 700 includinglocation information that may be transmitted by a device to one or moreother devices. In some embodiments, the communication frame 700 mayinclude a beacon frame, a probe response frame, or any other appropriatecommunication frame. In some cases, the communication frame 700 includesa communication frame defined in any of the 802.11 family of standards.The communication frame 700 may be transmitted by one or more devices,such as the network devices or access devices within network 100 orwithin a network associated with one or more venues (e.g., venue 200).For example, the communication frame 700 may be transmitted by one ormore of the network devices 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 in order to sharetheir location information. In some embodiments, the one or more devicesmay transmit their location information along with a unique identifierof each device. For example, a unique identifier may include a MACaddress, a universally unique identifier (UUID), a unique deviceidentifier

(UDID), a globally unique identifier (GUID), a RFID, a serial number, orany other identifier that is unique to each device. In some embodiments,the communication frame 700 may be transmitted from a device to agateway, such as gateways 110, 112, or 212. The gateway may then routeand transmit the communication frame 700 to an intended destinationdevice via a local area network (network 100, network 200, or the like)and/or via an external network (e.g., cloud network 114, externalnetwork 214, or the like). In some embodiments, the one or more devicesmay transmit the communication frame 700 directly to a destinationdevice using, for example, a Bluetooth™ communication, a Zigbee™communication, a UWB communication, a WiFi-Direct communication, a BLEcommunication, a cellular, another broadband communication, or someother communication using an appropriate communication protocol. Inembodiments, the one or more devices may transmit the communicationframe 700 to one or more nodes of a mesh network, and one or more of thenodes may transmit the communication frame 700 along a determined routeuntil it reaches the destination device.

The communication frame 700 includes a header field 702, a body 704, anda cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field. In some embodiments, the headerfield 702 includes a frame control field, a duration field, one or moreaddresses (e.g., source and destination MAC addresses), a basic serviceset identification (BSSID) field, a sequence control field, or the like.The CRC field provides error detection capability.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a body 704 of the communication frame700. The body 704 may include a beacon interval field 802, a timestampfield 804, one or more service set identification (SSID) fields 806, arates field 808 indicating supported rates, a parameter set field 810, acapability field 812, a traffic indication map (TIM) field 814, and alocation field 816. The beacon interval field 802 may indicate theamount of time between communication frame 700 transmissions, which mayallow devices that enter a low power mode to know when to wake up toreceive the communication frame 700. The timestamp field 804 may be usedby a device after it receives the communication frame 700 to update itslocal clock, enabling synchronization among multiple devices that areassociated with the device transmitting the communication frame 700. TheSSID field 806 identifies a specific network, such as the local areanetwork for which the transmitter of the communication frame 700 is apart. The rates field 808 indicates the rates that the network supports,so that a receiving device knows the transmission rates to use. Theparameter set(s) field 810 may include information describing specificsignaling methods (e.g., spread spectrum, direct sequence spreadspectrum, or the like), a channel number that a gateway or other deviceon the network is using, or the like. The capability field 812 includescapability information indicating requirements of devices to connect thenetwork that the beacon represents. The TIM field 814 includesinformation identifying devices that have data frames stored or bufferedin a device, such as a gateway.

The body 704 further includes a location field 816 that includeslocation information identifying a location determined by a device. Thelocation information may include GPS coordinates, a latitude-longitudeposition, or the like. For example, as described above with respect toFIGS. 2-6, a device that may not have access to location data sourcesmay determine its location using location information and/or signalsreceived from one or more other devices. A device may then broadcast ordirectly send to specific devices its location using the communicationframe 400 or any other appropriate communication mechanism. For example,a device may broadcast or directly send the communication frame 400 tomultiple devices in and around the device's home network. One or more ofthe multiple devices may be able to use the device's location in orderto determine their own locations using one or more of the techniquesdescribed above.

In some embodiments, the communication frame 700 also includes a uniqueidentifier field (not shown) that includes a unique identifier. Theunique identifier field may include a unique identifier (e.g., a MACaddress, a UUID, a RFID, a serial number, or the like) of the networkdevice sending the communication frame 700. The unique identifier fieldmay be included in the header 702 (e.g., in a source address field, orother field) or may be included in the body 704.

A network of devices, such as various network devices, may determine anaccurate location for themselves using the above-described techniques,and may make the locations available for use by other devices (e.g., bytransmitting communication frame 700). The network of devices that canstore and share location information determined using theabove-described techniques may be referred to herein as a crowd sourcedlocation data source. Accordingly, the network of devices with eachdevice storing and sharing its location information may make up a crowdsourced location data source that is usable by other devices that maynot have access to one or more other location data sources. For example,the network of devices with location information that make up the crowdsourced location data source may be devices that are configured tocommunicate using WiFi™, Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, infrared (IR), UWB,WiFi-Direct, BLE or the like, protocols, such as network devices, butthat do not have access to GPS and/or cellular location data sources.Other devices that also have WiFi™, Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, infrared (IR),UWB, WiFi-Direct, BLE or other communication capabilities, but no GPSand/or cellular capabilities, may communicate with one or more of thedevices of the crowd sourced location data source to access the locationinformation. For example, the other devices may receive communicationframes with location information from one or more of the devices of thecrowd sourced location data source. The other devices may access thelocation information using the WiFi™, Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, infrared(IR), UWB, WiFi-Direct, BLE or other communication protocol for whichthe devices are configured to operate. The devices of the crowd sourcedlocation data source may be located across different a geographicalareas or regions. As a result, devices without access to certainlocation data sources can accurately determine their location using thelocation information provided by the network of devices of the crowdsourced location data source that are located in different areas.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a process 900 of determining andstoring a location of a network device. In some aspects, the process 900may be performed by a computing device, such as a network device 102,104, 106, 202, 204, 206, or 208 shown in FIGS. 1-5. While specificexamples may be given of a network device performing the process 900,one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other devices mayperform the process 900.

Process 900 is illustrated as a logical flow diagram, the operation ofwhich represent a sequence of operations that can be implemented inhardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In thecontext of computer instructions, the operations representcomputer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readablestorage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform therecited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the likethat perform particular functions or implement particular data types.The order in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described operationscan be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement theprocesses.

Additionally, the process 900 may be performed under the control of oneor more computer systems configured with executable instructions and maybe implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or morecomputer programs, or one or more applications) executing collectivelyon one or more processors, by hardware, or combinations thereof. Asnoted above, the code may be stored on a machine-readable storagemedium, for example, in the form of a computer program comprising aplurality of instructions executable by one or more processors. Themachine-readable storage medium may be non-transitory.

The process 900 may allow a network device to determine and/or update orsupplement its location using location information and signals receivedfrom another device (e.g., an access device, other network device, agateway, or any other device).

At 902, the process 900 includes receiving, on a network device,location information of an access device, wherein the locationinformation includes location coordinates of the access device. Forexample, the location information may include global positioningcoordinates of the access device's location, a latitude-longitudeposition of the access device, or the like. The access device has accessto one or more location data sources, such as GPS and/or cellularlocation data sources, and can readily obtain the location information,as described above with respect to FIGS. 2-5. Using one or more of thelocation data sources, the access device may determine its location atone or more points (e.g., points A in FIG. 2 and/or point B in FIG. 3).The access device may then transmit to the network device the locationinformation identifying the locations for the points.

At 904, the process 900 includes receiving, on the network device, asignal from the access device. For example, the network device may beaware of one or more locations of points of the access device, but mayneed to determine further information in order for the network device todetermine its own location. At 906, the process 900 includes determininga location of the network device, wherein the location of the networkdevice is determined using the location information of the access deviceand the signal received from the access device. For example, using thesignal from the access device, the network device may determine itsrelative distance from the access device. The network device may use thedistance information along with the location information to determineits own location, as described with respect to FIGS. 2-5.

At 908, the process 900 includes storing, on the network device, thelocation of the network device. For example, the network device maystore its location information so that it can be used by other devicesfor location determination.

In some embodiments, the process 900 may include transmitting thelocation of the network information. For example, the stored locationinformation may be transmitted so that other devices can use thelocation information to determine their own locations. For example, thelocation of the network device is transmitted in a beacon. The beaconmay include a service set identification associated with the networkdevice. One of ordinary skill will appreciate that other frames otherthan a beacon frame may be used to transmit the location information.For example, the network device may broadcast its location informationin another communication frame that can broadcast the network device'slocation information to one or more other devices within or outside ofthe network device's network.

In some embodiments, the process 900 may include receiving a signal froman additional network device, determining a signal strength of thesignal received from the additional network device, and determining thelocation of the network device using the signal strength of the signalreceived from the additional network device. For example, as describedabove with respect to FIGS. 2-5, the network device may determine itsrelative distance to one or more other network devices to determine itsown location. In one example, the network device may determine arelative geometry of its position relative to the additional networkdevice by determining its distance from the additional network device,for example, based on the signal strength, the round-trip time (RTT), acombination thereof, or other measurement of signal received from theadditional network device.

In some embodiments, the process 900 may include determining a signalstrength of the signal received from the access device, receiving signalstrengths of other signals received by other network devices from theaccess device, performing triangulation using the signal strength of thesignal and the signal strengths of the other signals, and determiningthe location of the network device using a result of the triangulation.

In some embodiments, the process 900 may include performingtriangulation using the location coordinates of the access device, anddetermining the location of the network device using a result of thetriangulation.

As described above with respect to FIGS. 2-5, other sources of locationinformation may be available to determine device locations or tosupplement previously determined devices locations. For example, in someembodiments, the process 900 may include receiving updated locationinformation of the access device, wherein the updated locationinformation of the access device is updated over time using sensorinformation of the access device, as described previously. The process900 may include determining an updated location of the network device,wherein the updated location of the network device is determined usingthe updated location information. In some embodiments, the process 900may include determining a layout of a venue in which the network deviceis located, wherein the layout is estimated using the updated locationinformation.

In some embodiments, the process 900 may include performing a sitesurvey to determine an existence of one or more gateways. For example,the site survey may be performed during a configuration process of thenetwork device. The process 900 may further include receivingidentification information of the one or more gateways and transmittingthe identification information of the one or more gateways. For example,the network device may receive the identification information from theone or more gateways, and may transmit the identification information toa server. The process 900 may further include receiving locationinformation associated with the one or more gateways, and determiningthe location of the network device using the location informationassociated with the one or more gateways. The location informationassociated with the one or more gateways may be received from theserver. As described above, the location information of the one or moregateways obtained as a result of the site survey may provide anestimated location for the network device.

In some embodiments, the process 900 may include determining an internetprotocol address of a gateway, and determining the location of thenetwork device using the internet protocol address of the gateway. Thelocation may be determined using an IP geolocation service, as describedabove.

In some embodiments, the process 900 may include receiving globalpositioning system location information, and validating the location ofthe network device using the global positioning system locationinformation. For example, as described above, a location determinedusing one or more of the location determination techniques describedherein may be verified or corrected using information obtained from oneor more location data sources. In one example, a location can bevalidated or verified when global positioning system locationinformation becomes available from another device, such as an accessdevice or gateway.

In some embodiments, the process 900 may include receiving a gatewaysignal from a gateway, determining a signal strength of the gatewaysignal, and determining the location of the network device using thesignal strength of the gateway signal. For example, the network devicemay determine its relative distance from the gateway by performingtriangulation or trilateration on the gateway signal.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a process 1000 of determining andstoring a location of a network device. In some aspects, the process1000 may be performed by a computing device, such as an access device108, 216, or 600 shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 5-6. While specific examples maybe given of an access device performing the process 1000, one ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other devices may performthe process 1000.

Process 1000 is illustrated as a logical flow diagram, the operation ofwhich represent a sequence of operations that can be implemented inhardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In thecontext of computer instructions, the operations representcomputer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readablestorage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform therecited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the likethat perform particular functions or implement particular data types.The order in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described operationscan be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement theprocesses.

Additionally, the process 1000 may be performed under the control of oneor more computer systems configured with executable instructions and maybe implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or morecomputer programs, or one or more applications) executing collectivelyon one or more processors, by hardware, or combinations thereof. Asnoted above, the code may be stored on a machine-readable storagemedium, for example, in the form of a computer program comprising aplurality of instructions executable by one or more processors. Themachine-readable storage medium may be non-transitory.

At 1002, the process 1000 includes providing for display, by a computingdevice, an icon of a network device. The computing device may include anaccess device, such as any of the access devices 108, 216, or 600 shownin FIGS. 1-3 and 5-6. For example, the icon may include the icon 602illustrated in FIG. 6. At 1004, the process 1000 includes receivinginput corresponding to a position of the network device. In someembodiments, the input corresponding to the position of the networkdevice includes a drag-and-drop operation. The drag-and-drop operationmay include dragging the icon of the network device to the position. Insome embodiments, the input corresponding to the position of the networkdevice includes a pin-drop operation. The pin-drop operation may includedropping a pin at the position.

At 1006, the process 1000 includes transmitting the position to thenetwork device, wherein a location of the network device is determinedusing the position. In some embodiments, the position is used to updatethe location of the network device.

In some embodiments, the process 1000 includes providing for display amap of a venue in which the network device is located. The icon of thenetwork device may be provided for display by overlaying the icon on themap. Using FIG. 6 as an example, the venue 200 may be overlaid insection 604 of the graphical interface 600.

In some embodiments, the process 1000 includes providing for display alayout of the venue in which the network device is located, wherein thelayout of the venue is provided for display by overlaying the layout onthe map. Using FIG. 6 as an example, the venue 200 may be displayed witha layout so that different rooms or other partitions of the venue 200are displayed. The layout may be determined using the techniquesdescribed above, such as using a sensor within an access device.

Techniques are also described herein for determining a location of adevice or object using a crowd sourced location data source. Forexample, as described in further detail with respect to FIGS. 11-15,once a sufficient number of devices with location information arepresent in one or more geographic areas such that a crowd sourcedlocation data source is formed, a device may locate itself or locateanother device by accessing or otherwise utilizing the locationinformation from one or more of the devices in the crowd sourcedlocation data source. In some embodiments, the network of devices of thecrowd sourced location data source may make up a mesh network in whicheach device is a node of the mesh network, and each node may transmit acommunication to another node along a determined route until thecommunication reaches a destination device. The devices that make up thecrowd sourced location data source may be referred to herein as alocation device. A location device may include a client device, such asa network device (e.g., network device 102, 104, 106, 202, 204, 206,208, or 210), an access device (e.g., access device 108 or 216), or thelike. In some examples, a user that wishes to find a misplaced objectmay request the services of a network of location devices from the crowdsourced location data source to locate the object. The object may beunable to communicate directly with a client device of the user. Forexample, the object may be located at a distance far enough away from aclient device of the user such that the object may not be able tocommunicate with the client device. The object may also be unable todetermine its own location and/or may be unable to transmit its locationto the client device of the user from the remote location. For example,the object may include a communication device that is only able tocommunicate with devices that are within a certain distance from thecommunication device, and that is unable to communicate using long-rangecommunication technologies. Accordingly, the network of location devicesthat are part of the crowd sourced location data source may be used tolocate the object. The network of location devices may also be used tocommunicate the location of the object back to the client device of theuser. The network of location devices and the client device of the usermay be in communication with a network server that can receive locationsof the object from the location devices and that can report the locationof the object to the client device of the user.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of an outdoor venue 1100 in which adevice may be located. The venue 1100 may include a neighborhood, apark, a university campus, or any other outdoor environment. While thevenue 1100 is illustrated as an outdoor environment, one of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that the same principles describedherein may apply to an indoor environment. A network of location devices1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124 is locatedthroughout the venue 1100. The location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112,1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124 may make up or may be part of a crowdsourced location data source, and may be positioned at various locationswithin the venue 1100. For example, location device 1108 is located in abuilding, location device 1106 is located in a car, and location device1112 is located in a bush.

Each of the location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120,1122, and 1124 stores location information determined using any of thetechniques described above with respect to FIGS. 2-10. The locationdevices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124 may beconfigured to share the location information with other devices thatcome within communication range of the location devices 1106, 1108,1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124. For example, the locationdevice 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124 maytransmit a communication frame (e.g., communication frame 700) thatincludes location information identifying a position of the locationdevice 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124 to one ormore other devices. Any of the location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112,1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124 may include a client device. Forexample, any of the location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118,1120, 1122, and 1124 may include a network device, similar to any of thenetwork devices 102, 104, 106, 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 described above.As another example, any of the location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112,1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124 may include an access device, similarto any of the access devices 108 or 216 described above. The locationdevices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124 can beused to perform various functions. For example, the location device 1108may include an IoT device that allows a user to locally or remotelyaccess, control, and/or configure various objects. The IoT device maynot include a cellular transceiver radio. In one example, the locationdevice 1112 may include an automation device that controls a sprinklersystem. As yet another example, the location device 1106 may include anaccess device that allows a user to connect to a local area network, acellular network, another broadband network, and one or more wide areanetworks.

In some examples, a user located remotely from the venue 1100 may havemisplaced an object. The user may make a location request to locate theobject. For example, the user may have misplaced the dog 1102, and maymake a location request using a client device in order to locate the dog1102. The client device of the user may include an access device, whichmay be similar to any of the access devices 108 or 216 described above.In some examples, an application, a proprietary program, a web browser,or any other program executed and operated by the client device mayallow the user to make the location request. The user may be registeredwith a location service that is operated using an external network, suchas the Internet, a cloud network, a cellular network, another broadbandnetwork, or any wide area network. For example, the external network mayinclude the network 114, the network 214, or another network. Theapplication, a proprietary program, a web browser, or other programexecuted and operated by the client device may allow the user tointerface with the location service. In some embodiments, the locationdevices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124 mayinclude an application or other program associated with the locationservice that allows the devices to perform the location functionalitydescribed herein.

The request may be transmitted by the user's client device to a networkserver. The network server may be included in the external network withwhich the user is registered. For example, the network server may bepart of the network 114 or the network 214. Once the network serverreceives the request, the network server may identify one or morelocation devices of the crowd sourced location data source in which tosend the request. In some embodiments, the network server may identifyone or more location devices based on a geographical area or region. Insome examples, when making the request, the user may identify ageographical region in which the user believes the dog 1102 may belocated. For example, the user may limit the search to a specific townor region. The geographical region may be included in the request. Insome embodiments, the search may be expanded in the event the dog 1102is not found within the specified geographical region. For example, thesearch for the dog 1102 may be performed using a ripple technique, inwhich the server starts the search with location devices within aspecified geographical area, and then incrementally expands thegeographical area to search additional location devices as needed. Insome examples, the network server may determine a location in which theclient device of the user is located, and may limit or begin the searchin a geographical area corresponding to the location of the user'sclient device. For example, the network server may begin the search in ageographical region that corresponds to a zip code in which the user'sclient device is located. In such examples, the network may use theripple technique in the event the dog 1102 is not located within the zipcode.

A communication or tracking device may be part of or integrated with theobject to allow the object to be located. The communication or trackingdevice may include a network device, such as any of the network devices102, 104, 106, 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 described above. For example, thedevice 1104 may be a communication or tracking device that is attachedto a collar of the dog 1102, and may be used to locate the dog 1102 asit moves from points A to D illustrated in FIG. 11. In some embodiments,the devices 1104 may include an application or other program associatedwith the location service that allows the device 1104 to perform thelocation functionality described herein. The device 1104 may include oneor more transceiver radios that can communicate using relatively shortrange communication protocols, such as a WiFi™, Bluetooth™, Zigbee™, IR,UWB, WiFi-Direct, BLE, and/or other appropriate transceiver radios. Thedevice 1104, however, may not include long range communicationcapabilities. For example, the device 1104 may not include a cellulartransceiver radio. Accordingly, the device 1104 may be unable todirectly communicate with the user's client device due to the distancebetween the device 1104 and the user's client device. In someembodiments, the device 1104 also may not be able to communicate withthe network server. For example, the device 1104 may be out of range ofor may not have permission to access a WiFi™ network. In anotherexample, the device 1104 may not have the communication capabilities tocommunicate with the network server. For example, the device 1104 mayinclude only a Bluetooth™ transceiver radio, a Zigbee™ transceiverradio, an IR transceiver radio, a UWB transceiver radio, a WiFi-Directtransceiver radio, and/or a BLE transceiver radio. Thus, the device 1104may rely on communication with the location devices 1106, 1108, 1110,1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124 in order to determine itslocation and communicate its location back to the user's client devicevia the network server.

The request may include a unique identifier of the device that isattached to or integrated with the object that is to be located. Theidentifier may include a MAC address, a universally unique identifier(UUID), a unique device identifier (UDID), a globally unique identifier(GUID), a RFID, a serial number, or any other unique identifier of thedevice. The characters of the unique identifier may include lettersand/or numbers. In one example, the device 1104 may be associated with aunique identifier. The unique identifier may be stored in the externalnetwork in which the network server is located and with which the usermay be registered. Devices may register with the network and may beissued a unique identifier by the external network. An example of theregistration process is described below with respect to FIG. 16. Theexternal network may store a unique identifier for each of theregistered devices so that communications can be directed to a device byreferencing the device's unique identifier. For example, acommunication, such as a location request, may include the uniqueidentifier of a device in order to identify the device as the intendedsubject or recipient of the communication. In one example, the requestfrom the user to locate the dog 1104 may include the identifier of thedevice 1104 so that the location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116,1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124 of the crowd sourced location data source areaware of which device to locate. In some embodiments, the device 1104may periodically transmit or broadcast a tracking signal that includesthe unique identifier of the device 1104 so that location devices 1106,1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, 1124 are aware when the device1104 is in proximity to location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116,1118, 1120, 1122, 1124. In some embodiments, the device 1104 may onlytransmit or broadcast the tracking signal if it determines that it isoutside of communication range with the user's client device. Forexample, when the device 1104 is in communication range with the user'sclient device, it may only transmit a tracking signal in response to acommand from the client device. However, the device 1104 may detect whenit is no longer within communication range with the client device, andin response may begin transmitting or broadcasting the tracking signalso that any location devices that are located within communication rangefrom the device 1104 may receive the tracking signal.

In some embodiments, the network server may require authenticationbefore a user can locate an object. For example, the network server maydetermine whether the requestor is authorized to locate the device. Insome embodiments, the network server may authenticate the user bygenerating a signature using a key associated with the user. Forexample, as described in further detail with respect to FIG. 16, theclient device of the user may generate a signature using a security keyissued by the network server or other server. The network server mayreceive the signature from the client device, and may use the signatureto verify that the client device is associated with the uniqueidentifier of device 1104. For example, once the signature is receivedby the network server, the network server may generate a signature usinga key stored at the network for the client device, and may then verifywhether the signatures match. In some embodiments, to authenticate theuser, the network server may receive login credentials (e.g., a username and password) from the user that verify whether the user isauthorized to locate the device 1104. For example, an account of theuser may indicate that the user is associated with the unique identifierof the device 1104. Upon determining that the signatures match or thatthe credentials are correct, the server may authorize the user to locatethe dog 1102. For example, the network server may query or inspect theuser's record or profile that includes devices with which the user isassociated. Further details regarding a user's record or profile arediscussed with respect to FIG. 16.

Once the network server determines the location devices 1106, 1108,1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124 that are eligible to receivethe request (e.g., based on a specified or determined geographiclocation), the network server may transmit the user's request includingthe unique identifier of the device 1104 to one or more of the locationdevices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124. Insome embodiments, the network server may transmit the request and theidentifier of the device 1104 to one of the location devices 1106, 1108,1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124, and then that device maytransmit the request and identifier to one or more of the other locationdevices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and 1124individually or as a broadcast message. As a result, the network servermay transmit the request to one location device, and may receive alocation of the device 1104 from a different or additional locationdevice within the geographical area of the venue 1100. In someembodiments, the network server may transmit the request as a broadcastrequest that is receivable by more than one of the location devices1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124. By broadcastingthe request, any of the location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116,1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124 that receive the broadcasted request maycontinuously or periodically (e.g., over a period of one or moreseconds, minutes, or the like) search for communications from the device1104 until a period of time has elapsed or until the location devices1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, 1124 are prompted toquit searching (e.g., by the network server, by another location device,by a user's client device, or the like).

In some examples, the network server may transmit the user's request tolocate the device 1104 and the unique identifier of device 1104 tolocation device 1122. In such instances, the network server may transmitthe location request and identifier only to the location device 1122(not as a broadcast message), and the location device 1122 can thenretransmit the location request and identifier to any of the otherlocation devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1124. Forexample, the location device 1122 may retransmit the location requestand identifier upon receiving the location request. In another example,the location device 1122 may retransmit the location request andidentifier once it has determined it has received a communication fromthe device 1104 and/or obtained a location for the device 1104. Inanother example, the location device 1122 may receive a request for thelocation request and identifier from another location device, and mayretransmit the location request and identifier upon receiving therequest from the other location device. One of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that the location device 1122 may retransmit the requestto locate the device 1104 and the identifier of the device 1104 at anytime after receiving the request and identifier. In some examples, thenetwork server may transmit the request as a broadcast request to all ofthe location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, or 1122.

In response to receiving the request 1104, the location device 1122 maybegin to look for communications that include the unique identifier ofthe device 1104. For example, the location device 1122 may start, fromthe point in time it receives the request, detecting whether anyreceived communications include the unique identifier of the device1104. In some embodiments, the location device 1122 may also determinewhether it has recently received any communications that include theunique identifier of the device 1104. For example, the location device1122 may determine whether it has detected any communications thatinclude the unique identifier of the device 1104 within a certain periodof time. The location device 1122 may store a record in memory (e.g., acache, flash memory, or the like) that records unique identifiers ofdevices from which the location device 1122 has received communications.The record may include a time stamp indicating when the communicationsare received. In some embodiments, the location device 1122 may deleteunique identifiers of devices that it has not received communicationsfrom within the period of time. The period of time may include minutes,hours, days, weeks, or any other appropriate period of time.

At the point in time in which the location device 1122 receives therequest, the dog 1102 and the device 104 may be positioned at point A.In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11, the location device 1122cannot receive communications from the device 1104 due to the distancebetween location device 1122 and device 1104 being too great. As aresult, the location device 1122 may determine that it does not detectany current communications from the device 1104 and may also determinethat it has not recently received any communications within a certainperiod of time (e.g., based on a record of received unique identifiers).

In the event the network server transmits the request and uniqueidentifier of device 1104 to only location device 1122, the locationdevice 1122 may retransmit the request and identifier to another of thelocation devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, or 1124. Forexample, the location device 1122 may transmit the request and uniqueidentifier of device 1104 to location device 1108. In some embodiments,location device 1108 may receive the request and identifier in abroadcast request, as described above. Once the request and identifierare received, the location device 1108 may begin to look forcommunications that include the unique identifier of the device 1104,and may also determine if the location device 1108 includes a storedrecord of the unique identifier of the device 1104. When located atpoint A, the device 1104 attached to the dog 1102 is close enough tolocation device 1108 that the location device 1108 can receivecommunications from the device 1104. For example, the location device1108 may receive a communication, such as a tracking signal, from thedevice 1104. As explained above, the device 1104 may transmit orbroadcast a tracking signal that includes the unique identifier of thedevice 1104. Once the location device 1108 and the device 1104 haveexchanged communications (e.g., a tracking signal is received bylocation device 1108 from device 1104), the location device 1108 mayobtain a location of the device 1104 at point A. The location device1108 can obtain the location of the device 1104 in various ways. Forexample, as explained in more detail below, the location device 1108 maydetermine the location of the device 1104, the location device 1108 maytransmit its location to device 1104 so device 1104 can determine itslocation, or the location of the location device 1108 may be used as anapproximate location for device 1104.

In some examples, the location device 1108 may use information from thereceived communication signals to determine a location of the device1104 using any of the techniques described above with respect to FIGS.2-10. For example, the location device 1108 may determine a distancebetween it and two or more other known points (e.g., location devices1106 and 1110) as well as a distance between it and the device 1104. Asanother example, the location device 1108 may determine distancesbetween the device 1104 and other known points (e.g., location devices1106 and 1110). As described above, the distances may be determinedusing a RSSI measurement, a RCPI measurement, a RTT measurement, acombination thereof, or the like. The location device 1108 may thenperform triangulation or trilateration using its location, the locationsdevices 1106 and 1110, and the determined distances between either thelocation device 1108 and location devices 1106 and 1110, or thedetermined distances between device 1104 and location devices 1106,1108, 1110.

In some embodiments, the location device 1108 may transmit its ownlocation information to the device 1104 so that the device 1104 candetermine its location using any of the techniques described above withrespect to FIGS. 2-10. The location information may include GPScoordinates, a latitude-longitude position, or any other appropriatelocation designation. For example, the device 1104 may analyze signalsreceived from location device 1108, and may determine a distance betweenthe device 1104 and the location device 1108 based on the signals (e.g.,using RSSI measurements, RCPI measurements, RTT measurements, or thelike). The device 1104 may further determine distances between it andother devices with known locations (e.g., location devices 1106 and1110) using similar techniques. The device 1104 may then performtriangulation or trilateriation using the location information oflocation device 1108 along with the determined distances. The device1104 may then transmit its determined location back to the locationdevice 1108.

In some embodiments, the location of the location device 1108 may beused as the approximate location of the device 1104. In suchembodiments, the location device 1108 or the device 1104 does not haveto determine an exact location of the device 1104. For example, thedistance between location device 1108 and device 1104 may be shortenough such that using the location of location device 1108 is closeenough for the dog 1102 to be found. Thus, an exact location for the dog1102 may not be required. Because the device 1104 attached to the dog1102 uses close range communications to communicate with the locationdevices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124, it maybe assumed that the distance between the dog 1102 and a location device1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124 is short enoughsuch that a location of a location device can be used as an approximatelocation for the dog 1102. Accordingly, an estimated location of the dog1102 using the location of location device 1108 may be sufficient due tothe proximity of the device 1104 to location device 1108.

The location device 1108 can then transmit location informationcorresponding to the determined location of the device 1104 along withthe unique identifier of the device 1104 back to the network server. Thelocation information may include GPS coordinates, a latitude-longitudeposition, or any other appropriate location designation for the device1104. The network server may store the location information in a recordor profile associated with the user and/or the device 1104. For example,the network server may store the location information of the device 1104in a record or profile associated with the user and/or the device 1104that maps the unique identifier of the device 1104 with the locationinformation of the device 1104. The record or profile may include therecord or profile discussed with respect to FIG. 16.

Using location information of the device 1104 received from the locationdevice 1108, the network server can respond to the user's request with alocation of the dog 1102 at point A. For example, the server may send aresponse to the user with the location information for the dog 1102. Theuser may receive a prompt or notification via the application,proprietary program, web browser, or other program executed and operatedby the user's client device.

Using the above described techniques, the location devices 1106, 1108,1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124 making up the crowd sourcedlocation data source allows the user to track the movement of the dog1102 as the dog 1102 moves to different points A, B, C, and D throughoutthe venue 1100. For example, other location devices 1106, 1112, and 1110in proximity to the device 1104 while the dog 1102 is located at point Amay also detect communications from the device 1104 upon receiving therequest and unique identifier of device 1104 (e.g., from the server orfrom another location device), and may obtain a location of device 1104using any of the techniques described above. Further, when the dog 1102moves to point

B, the location devices 1112 and 1116 may receive communications fromdevice 1104, and may obtain location information for the device 1104.When the dog 1102 moves to point C, the location device 1124 may receiveone or more communications, and may obtain location information for thedevice 1104. As the dog moves through the venue 1100 to point D, thelocation devices 1118 and 1120 may receive communications and obtain thelocation information for the device 1104. As the locations for thedevice 1104 are obtained, the location devices 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120,and 1124 may transmit the location information along with the uniqueidentifier of device 1104 to the network server. The network server cansend an update to the user's client device each time new locationinformation is received from one of the location devices 1106, 1108,1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, or 1124.

In some embodiments, a location device may obtain and/or report alocation of a tracking device (e.g., device 1104) without receiving alocation request from the network server. For example, tracking devicesthat belong to a location service (e.g., that have been registered witha location service by a user) may send tracking signals with uniqueidentifiers of the tracking devices that are detected by one or morelocation devices. In such embodiments, any location device that receivesa tracking signal from a tracking device may obtain the trackingdevice's location, and may store the location and/or unique identifierof the tracking device in a record or database. The location device maytransmit the location and unique identifier back to the network server.The network server may store the location information of the trackingdevice in the event a user requests location of the object.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of an indoor venue 1200 in which a devicemay be located. The venue 1200 may include a house, an airport terminal,a university building, or any other indoor environment. While the venue1200 is illustrated as an indoor environment, one of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that the same principles described herein mayapply to an outdoor environment. A network of location devices 1206,1208, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216, and 1218 is located throughout the venue1200. The location devices 1206, 1208, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216, and 1218may make up or may be part of a crowd sourced location data source, andmay be positioned at various locations within the venue 1200.

Each of the location devices 1206, 1208, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216, and1218 stores location information. The location information may bedetermined using any of the techniques described above with respect toFIGS. 2-10. The location devices 1206, 1208, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216, and1218 may be configured to share the location information with otherdevices (e.g., by transmitting a communication frame, such ascommunication frame 700) that come within communication range of thelocation devices. Any of the location devices 1206, 1208, 1210, 1212,1214, 1216, and 1218 may include a client device. For example, thelocation devices 1206, 1208, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216, or 1218 may includea network device, similar to any of the network devices 102, 104, 106,202, 204, 206, 208, 210 described above. As another example, thelocation devices 1206, 1208, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216, and 1218 mayinclude an access device, similar to any of the access devices 108 or216 described above. Some of the location devices may be in a fixedposition and some of the location devices may be mobile. In someexamples, the location devices 1206, 1210, and 1218 may include networkdevices (similar to those described with respect to FIGS. 1 and/or 2)that are statically located in a relatively fixed position such that thedevices are moved, if at all, seldomly. In one example, the networkdevice 1206 includes an automation switch that plugs into a wall outlet.In some examples, the location devices 1208, 1212, 1214, and 1216 mayinclude access devices (similar to those described above with respect toFIGS. 1 and/or 2) that move throughout the venue 1200. For example, thelocation device 1208 may include a mobile device that a user carrieswith them while moving throughout the venue 1200.

Similar to the example discussed with respect to FIG. 11, a user locatedremotely from the venue 1200 may have misplaced an object, and the usermay make a location request to locate the object. The same locationtechniques described above with respect to FIG. 11 may be used to locatethe object. For example, the user may have misplaced the key 1202, andmay make a location request using a client device in order to locate thekey 1202. An application, a proprietary program, a web browser, or anyother program executed and operated by the client device may allow theuser to make the location request. The location request may betransmitted to a server, and the server may transmit the request to oneor more of the location devices 1206, 1208, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216, or1218. A difference between the dog 1102 and the key 1202 is that the dog1102 is mobile, whereas the key 1202 is stable and does not movethroughout the venue 1200 (unless carried or otherwise attached to amobile object, such as a person). However, the same principles discussedwith respect to FIG. 11 may be used to locate the key 1202.

A communication or tracking device 1204 that is part of or integratedwith the key 1202 may periodically or continuously transmit a trackingsignal to allow the object to be located. The device 1204 and trackingsignal may be similar to the device 1104 and tracking signals describedabove with respect to FIG. 11. The location devices 1206, 1208, 1210,1212, 1214, 1216, or 1218 that are in proximity to the device 1204 orthat pass by device 1204 may detect the tracking signal. The locationdevices 1206, 1208, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216, or 1218 may detect thetracking signals in response to receiving the request from the networkserver. The request includes a unique identifier of the device 1204,such as a MAC address, a UUID, a UDID, a GUID, a RFID, a serial number,or any other unique identifier of the device 1204.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12, the location device 1206 maybe within a communication range of the device 1204, and may receive acommunication from the device 1204, such as a tracking signal. Further,one or more of the location devices 1208, 1212, 1214, or 1216 may passby the device 1204 at some point in time and may receive a communicationfrom the device 1204, such as a tracking signal. However, the locationdevices 1210 and 1218 are fixed at points in the venue 1200 that areoutside of the communication range of the device 1204, and thus cannotreceive any communications from the device 1204. In some embodiments, asdescribed above, each location device may store a record stored inmemory (e.g., a cache, flash memory, or the like) that records uniqueidentifiers of devices from which each location device has receivedcommunications. The record may also store a time stamp indicating whenthe communications are received. The location devices 1206, 1208, 1210,1212, 1214, 1216, or 1218 may query the record to determine whether andwhen they received a communication from the device 1204 prior toreceiving the request. For example, the location devices 1210 and 1218may determine that the unique identifier of device 104 is not present intheir records. In another example, the location devices 1208, 1212,1214, or 1216 that move throughout the venue 1200 may have passed by thedevice 1204 and received one or more communications from the device 1204at some point in time before the request to locate the key 1202 withdevice 1204 is received. Each of the location devices 1208, 1212, 1214,or 1216 can check to determine if the unique identifier of the device1204 is in any of their stored records.

In response to receiving the communication from device 1204 before orafter the request is received, the location devices 1206, 1208, 1212,1214, and/or 1216 may obtain the location of the device 1204 using anyof the techniques described with respect to FIGS. 2-10. For example, thelocation devices 1206, 1208, 1212, 1214, and/or 1216 may determine thelocation of the device 1204, the location devices 1206, 1208, 1212,1214, and/or 1216 may transmit their locations to device 1204 so device1204 can determine its location, or the location of any of the locationdevices 1206, 1208, 1212, 1214, and/or 1216 may be used as anapproximate location for device 1204.

The location devices 1206, 1208, 1212, 1214, and/or 1216 may thentransmit location information corresponding to the determined locationof the device 1204 along with the unique identifier of the device 1204back to the network server. The location information may include GPScoordinates, a latitude-longitude position, or any other appropriatelocation designation for the device 1204. Using location information ofthe device 1204 received from one or more of the location devices 1206,1208, 1212, 1214, and/or 1216, the network server can respond to theuser's request with a location of the key 1202 in the venue 1200. Forexample, the server may send a response to the user with the locationinformation for the key 1202. The user may receive a prompt ornotification via the application, proprietary program, web browser, orother program executed and operated by the user's client device.

In some embodiments, any of the location devices 1206, 1208, 1212, 1214,and/or 1216 may obtain and/or report a location of the device 1204without receiving a location request from the network server. Forexample, devices that belong to a location service (e.g., that have beenregistered with a location service by a user), such as device 1204, maysend tracking signals that are picked up by one or more of the locationdevices 1206, 1208, 1212, 1214, and/or 1216. Any of the location devices1206, 1208, 1212, 1214, and/or 1216 that receives a tracking signal fromthe device 1204 may obtain the location of the device 1204, and maystore the location and/or the unique identifier of the device 1204 in arecord or database. The location devices 1206, 1208, 1212, 1214, and/or1216 may transmit the location and unique identifier back to the networkserver. The network server may store the location information of thetracking device in the event a user requests location of the object.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a process 1300 for determining alocation of an object using a crowd sourced location data source. Whilespecific examples may be given of a location device performing theprocess 1300, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatother devices may perform the process 1300. In some aspects, the process1300 may be performed by a computing device, such as a location device1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, 1124, 1206, 1208, 1212,1214, or 1216. As described above, a location device may include aclient device, such as a network device similar to any of the networkdevices 102, 104, 106, 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 described above, or anaccess device similar to any of the access devices 108 or 216 describedabove.

Process 1300 is illustrated as a logical flow diagram, the operation ofwhich represent a sequence of operations that can be implemented inhardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In thecontext of computer instructions, the operations representcomputer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readablestorage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform therecited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the likethat perform particular functions or implement particular data types.The order in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described operationscan be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement theprocesses.

Additionally, the process 1300 may be performed under the control of oneor more computer systems configured with executable instructions and maybe implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or morecomputer programs, or one or more applications) executing collectivelyon one or more processors, by hardware, or combinations thereof. Asnoted above, the code may be stored on a machine-readable storagemedium, for example, in the form of a computer program comprising aplurality of instructions executable by one or more processors. Themachine-readable storage medium may be non-transitory.

At 1302, the process 1300 includes receiving, at a computing device, arequest to locate a device, wherein the request includes an identifierof the device. In some embodiments, the request further includes ageographical area to search for the device. For example, when making therequest, a user may use a client device to identify a geographicalregion in which the user believes the device may be located. In anotherexample, a network server that sends the request to the computing devicemay determine a location in which a user's client device is located, andmay only send the request to location devices in a geographical areacorresponding to the location of the user's client device. Using FIG. 11as an example, the computing device may include location device 1108,which may receive a request to locate the device 1104 that is attachedto the dog 1102. The request may be received by the computing devicefrom a network server or from another location device. The identifiermay include a MAC address, a UUID, a UDID, a GUID, a RFID, a serialnumber, or any other unique identifier of the device to be located. Byincluding the identifier in the request, any device receiving therequest knows what device's identifier to look for in any receivedcommunication. For example, in response to receiving the request, thecomputing device may begin to look for communications that include theunique identifier of the device. The computing device may also determinewhether it has recently received any communications that include theunique identifier of the device by, for example, referring to a recordof received unique identifiers of devices from which communications havebeen received.

In some embodiments, the process 1300 may include transmitting therequest to locate the device to one or more devices within thegeographical area, wherein the transmitted request includes theidentifier of the device. For example, the network server may transmitthe request to the computing device, and the computing device maytransmit the request to one or more other location devices within oroutside of the geographical area. The one or more other location devicesmay communicate with the device, obtain a location of the device, andtransmit the obtained location of the device to the network server.

In some embodiments, the request is received as a broadcast request thatis receivable by the one or more devices within the geographical area.For example, the network server may broadcast the request to one or morelocation devices located in the geographical area.

At 1304, the process 1300 includes receiving a communication from thedevice, wherein the communication includes the identifier of the device.The communication may include a tracking signal that is transmitted orbroadcast by the device. For example, the device may periodicallytransmit or broadcast the tracking signal that includes the uniqueidentifier of the device so that location devices are aware when thedevice is in proximity to the location devices. Using FIG. 11 as anexample, the location device 1108 may receive a tracking signal fromdevice 1104. The location device 1108 may identify that the device 1104is the device for which a location has been requested based on theunique identifier of the device 1104 being included in the request andin the tracking signal.

At 1306, the process 1300 includes obtaining a location of the device.For example, the computing device may obtain the location of the deviceusing any of the techniques described with respect to FIGS. 2-10. Forexample, the computing device may determine the location of the device,the computing device may transmit its location to the device so that thedevice can determine its own location and then transmit the locationback to the computing device, or the location of the computing devicemay be used as an approximate location for the device. In one example,the computing device may determine the location of the device using thecommunication received from the device. For example, as described abovewith respect to FIGS. 2-10, the computing device may determine adistance between it and the device based on signal characteristics ofthe communication signal received from the device, such as RSSImeasurements, RCPI measurements, RTT measurements, or the like. Thecomputing device may perform triangulation or trilateration using thedistance determination, its location, and locations of one or more otherdevices with known locations to determine the location of the device. Insome embodiments, the device can determine its location based on signalsit receives from the computing device or other location devices usingthe techniques described above with respect to FIGS. 2-10. In someembodiments, if the device and the computing device are in closeproximity, the location of the computing device may be used as anapproximate location for the device. For example, the device may only beable to communicate with other devices from relatively close distancesusing WiFi™ signals, Zigbee™ signals, Bluetooth™ signals, IR™ signals,UWB signals, WiFi-Direct signals, BLE signals, or the like. In theseexamples, the computing device may use its own location as anapproximate location for the device.

At 1308, the process 1300 includes transmitting the location of thedevice and the identifier of the device to a server, wherein the serveris configured to use the location of the device and the identifier ofthe device to send a response to the requestor of the request. Forexample, again using FIG. 11 as an example, the computing device mayinclude the location device 1108, which can then transmit locationinformation corresponding to the determined location of the device 1104along with the unique identifier of the device 1104 back to the networkserver. The location information may include GPS coordinates, alatitude-longitude position, or any other appropriate locationdesignation for the device 1104. Using location information of thedevice 1104 received from the location device 1108, the network servercan respond to the user's request with a location of the dog 1102 at oneor more points in the venue 1100. For example, the server may send aresponse to the user with the location information for the dog 1102. Theuser may receive a prompt or notification via the application,proprietary program, web browser, or other program executed and operatedby the user's client device.

FIG. 14 illustrates another embodiment of a process 1400 for determininga location of an object using a crowd sourced location data source.While specific examples may be given of an external network serverperforming the process 1400, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that other devices may perform the process 1400. For example,the process 1400 may be performed on a server located in a local areanetwork.

Process 1400 is illustrated as a logical flow diagram, the operation ofwhich represent a sequence of operations that can be implemented inhardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In thecontext of computer instructions, the operations representcomputer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readablestorage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform therecited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the likethat perform particular functions or implement particular data types.The order in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described operationscan be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement theprocesses.

Additionally, the process 1400 may be performed under the control of oneor more computer systems configured with executable instructions and maybe implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or morecomputer programs, or one or more applications) executing collectivelyon one or more processors, by hardware, or combinations thereof. Asnoted above, the code may be stored on a machine-readable storagemedium, for example, in the form of a computer program comprising aplurality of instructions executable by one or more processors. Themachine-readable storage medium may be non-transitory.

At 1402, the process 1400 includes receiving, on a network server, acommunication, wherein the communication includes a request to locate adevice, an identifier of the device, and a geographical area to search.For example, a user may use a client device to make the request to thenetwork server to locate a tracking or communication device that isattached to or otherwise included with an object that the user wishes tolocate. Using FIG. 11 as an example, the network server may receive arequest from a user's client device to locate the device 1104 that isattached to the dog 1102. The network server may be part of an externalnetwork, such as the network 114, the network 214, or another network.The identifier may include a MAC address, a UUID, a UDID, a GUID, aRFID, a serial number, or any other unique identifier of the device tobe located (e.g., device 1104). The geographical area can be identifiedin various ways, as discussed above. For example, when making therequest, the user may identify the geographical area as a region inwhich the user believes the device may be located. In another example,the network server may determine a location in which the user's clientdevice is located. The location may be included in the communication,for example, as a zip code, an address, a city name, a city code, or anyother appropriate identifier of a geographical area or region. Theserver may limit or begin the search in the geographical areacorresponding to the location of the user's client device.

In some embodiments, the process 1400 may include determining whetherthe requestor is authorized to locate the device. In some embodiments,determining whether the requestor is authorized to locate the deviceincludes generating a signature using a key associated with therequestor. For example, as described in further detail with respect toFIG. 16, the user's client device may register with the network serveror other server and may be issued a security key upon being registered.When making the request to locate the device (e.g., device 1104), theclient device of the user may generate a signature using the securitykey. The network server may receive the signature from the clientdevice, and may use the signature to verify that the client device, andthus the user, is associated with the unique identifier of the devicethe user is attempting to locate. For example, once the signature isreceived by the network server, the network server may generate asignature using a key stored at the network for the client device, andmay then verify whether the signatures match. In some embodiments,determining whether the requestor is authorized to locate the deviceincludes receiving login credentials (e.g., a user name and password)from the user that verify whether the user is authorized to locate thedevice. For example, an account of the user may indicate that the useris associated with the unique identifier of the device. Upon determiningthat the signatures match or that the credentials are correct, theserver may authorize the user to locate the device that is attached toor otherwise included with the object that the user wishes to locate.For example, the network server may query or inspect the user's recordor profile that includes devices with which the user is associated.Further details regarding a user's record or profile are discussed withrespect to FIG. 16.

At 1404, the process 1400 includes determining a location device that ispresent within the geographical area. As described above, a locationdevice is configured to obtain a location of one or more devices withinthe geographical area. For example, the network server may identify oneor more location devices of a crowd sourced location data source inwhich to send the request. Using FIG. 11 as an example, the networkserver may determine that any one or more of location devices 1106,1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118, 1120, 1122, and/or 1124 are located withinthe geographical area of the venue 1100. In some embodiments, the searchmay be expanded to include location devices that are located beyond thegeographical region in the event the device for which the user issearching is not found within the specified geographical region. Forexample, the search for the device may be performed using a rippletechnique that includes the server starting the search with locationdevices within the geographical area, and then incrementally expandingthe geographical area to utilize additional location devices outside thegeographical area as needed. For example, the search may begin withlocation devices located in the user's city, and if the device is notfound in the user's city, the search may be expanded to include locationdevices located in the user's county. If the device is still not foundin the user's county, the search may be expanded again to includelocation devices located in the user's state. One of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that other geographic areas may be searched.

At 1406, the process 1400 includes transmitting the request and theidentifier of the device to the location device. Using FIG. 11 as anexample, the network server may transmit to location device 1108 therequest to locate the device 1104 that is attached to the dog 1102. Insome embodiments, the process 1400 includes transmitting the request asa broadcast request that is receivable by a plurality of locationdevices within the geographical area. Referring again to FIG. 11 as anexample, the network server may broadcast the request to all or aportion of the location devices 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112, 1116, 1118,1120, 1122, and/or 1124 located within the geographical area of thevenue 1100. In some embodiments, the network server may transmit therequest to only one or the location devices in the geographical area.That location device may then transmit the request to one or more of theother location devices in the geographical area or to location devicesoutside of the geographical area (e.g., if the device is not found inthe geographical area).

In response to receiving the request, the location device may begin tolook for communications that include the unique identifier of thedevice. The location device may also determine whether it has recentlyreceived any communications that include the unique identifier of thedevice. For example, the location device may refer to or query a recordof received unique identifiers of devices from which communications havebeen received. The location device may receive, after or before therequest, a communication from the device that includes the uniqueidentifier of the device. The communication may include a trackingsignal that is transmitted or broadcast by the device. For example, thedevice may periodically transmit or broadcast the tracking signal thatincludes the unique identifier of the device so that location devicesare aware when the device is in proximity to the location devices. UsingFIG. 11 as an example, the location device 1108 may receive a trackingsignal from device 1104. The location device 1108 may identify that thedevice 1104 is the device for which a location has been requested basedon the unique identifier of the device 1104 being included in therequest and in the tracking signal.

The location device may then obtain a location of the device using anyof the techniques described with respect to FIGS. 2-10. For example, thelocation device may determine the location of the device, the locationdevice may transmit its location to the device so that the device candetermine its own location and then transmit the location back to thelocation device, or the location of the location device may be used asan approximate location for the device. The location device may transmitthe location and unique identifier back to the network server.

In some embodiments, a location device may detect communications fromcertain devices regardless of whether a request to locate that devicehas been received. For example, devices that belong to a locationservice (e.g., that have been registered with a location service by auser) may send tracking signals with unique identifiers of the trackingdevices that are detected by location devices. A location device thatreceives a tracking signal from a device may obtain the device'slocation, and may store the location and/or the unique identifier in arecord or database. The location device may transmit the location andunique identifier of the device back to the network server.

At 1408, the process 1400 includes receiving a location of the devicefrom the location device. For example, referring again to FIG. 11, thenetwork server may receive location information corresponding to thelocation of the device 1104 from the location device 1108. The locationinformation may include GPS coordinates, a latitude-longitude position,or any other appropriate location designation for the device 1104. Theprocess 1400 may also include receiving the unique identifier of thedevice from the location device. In some embodiments, the process 1400may include transmitting the request to the location device andreceiving the location of the device from an additional location devicewithin the geographical area, wherein the request is transmitted fromthe location device to the additional location device. For example, asdescribed above, the network server may transmit the request to only oneor the location devices in the geographical area, and that locationdevice may then transmit the request to one or more of the otherlocation devices in the geographical area or to location devices outsideof the geographical area (e.g., if the device is not found in thegeographical area). One of the other location devices within or outsideof the geographical area may obtain a location of the device, and maythen transmit the location and/or the identifier of the device to thenetwork server.

In some embodiments, the network server may store location informationcorresponding to the location of the device in a record or profileassociated with the device and/or the user that made the request tolocate the device. For example, the network server may store thelocation information of the device in a record or profile associatedwith the user and/or the device that maps the unique identifier of thedevice with the location information of the device. The record orprofile may include the record or profile discussed with respect to FIG.16.

At 1410, the process 1400 includes transmitting the location of thedevice to the requestor of the request. For example, using locationinformation corresponding to the location of the device received fromthe location device, the network server can respond to the user'srequest with a location of the object that the user wishes to locate.For example, the server may send a response to the user with thelocation information for the object. The user may receive a prompt ornotification via an the application, proprietary program, web browser,or other program executed and operated by the user's client device.

FIG. 15 illustrates another embodiment of a process 1500 for determininga location of an object using a crowd sourced location data source.While specific examples may be given of a communication or trackingdevice performing the process 1500, one of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that other devices may perform the process 1500. In someaspects, the process 1500 may be performed by a computing device, suchas a tracking device. A tracking device may include a network device,such as any of the network devices 102, 104, 106, 202, 204, 206, 208, or210 described above.

Process 1500 is illustrated as a logical flow diagram, the operation ofwhich represent a sequence of operations that can be implemented inhardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In thecontext of computer instructions, the operations representcomputer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readablestorage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform therecited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the likethat perform particular functions or implement particular data types.The order in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described operationscan be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement theprocesses.

Additionally, the process 1500 may be performed under the control of oneor more computer systems configured with executable instructions and maybe implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or morecomputer programs, or one or more applications) executing collectivelyon one or more processors, by hardware, or combinations thereof. Asnoted above, the code may be stored on a machine-readable storagemedium, for example, in the form of a computer program comprising aplurality of instructions executable by one or more processors. Themachine-readable storage medium may be non-transitory.

At 1502, the process 1500 includes transmitting, from a computingdevice, a tracking signal, wherein the tracking signal includes anidentifier of the computing device. For example, the computing devicemay include a tracking device and may be part of or integrated with anobject that a user wishes to locate. The computing device may be used tolocate the object in a venue. Using FIG. 11 as an example, the computingdevice may include the device 1104 that is attached to a collar of thedog 1102. The computing device may include one or more transceiverradios that can communicate using short range communication protocols,such as a WiFi™, Bluetooth™, Zigbee™, IR, UWB, WiFi-Direct, BLE, and/orother appropriate transceiver radios. In some embodiments, the computingdevice does not include a cellular transceiver radio or other long rangecommunication capabilities. Accordingly, in such embodiments, thecomputing device may be unable to directly communicate with a clientdevice of the user due to the distance between the computing device andthe user's client device. For example, the user may attempt to locatethe object with which the computing device is attached from a remotelocation. In these embodiments, the computing device also may not beable to communicate with a network server that the user can communicatewith to locate the object. For example, the computing device may be outof range of or may not have permission to access a WiFi™ network. Inanother example, the computing device may not have the communicationcapabilities to communicate with the network server. For example, thecomputing device may include only a Bluetooth™ transceiver radio, aZigbee™ transceiver radio, an IR transceiver radio, a UWB transceiverradio, a WiFi-Direct transceiver radio, and/or a BLE transceiver radio.In such embodiments, the computing device may rely on communicationswith one or more location devices in order to determine its location andto communicate its location back to the user's client device via thenetwork server.

In some embodiments, the computing device may periodically transmit orbroadcast the tracking signal with the identifier of the computingdevice so that location devices are aware when the computing device isin communication range. In some embodiments, the identifier may includea unique identifier, such as a MAC address, a UUID, a UDID, a GUID, aRFID, a serial number, or any other unique identifier of the computingdevice. In some embodiments, the process 1500 may include determiningthat the computing device is outside of a communication range with anaccess device, and transmitting the tracking signal when the computingdevice is outside of the communication range. For example, the computingdevice may only transmit or broadcast the tracking signal if itdetermines that it is outside of communication range with the user'sclient device. When the computing device is in communication range withthe user's client device, it may only transmit a tracking signal inresponse to a command from the client device. However, the computingdevice may detect when it is no longer within communication range withthe client device, and in response may begin transmitting orbroadcasting the tracking signal so that any location devices that arelocated within communication range from the device may receive thetracking signal.

At 1504, the process 1500 includes receiving a response, wherein theresponse includes location information of a device. For example, thecomputing device may transmit the tracking signal, which may be receivedby a location device. Once the location device receives the trackingsignal, the location device may transmit location informationcorresponding to its location to the computing device. The locationinformation may include GPS coordinates, a latitude-longitude position,or any other appropriate location designation. Referring to FIG. 11 asan example, the location device 1108 may receive the tracking signal,and may transmit a response to the device 1104 with location informationcorresponding to the location of the location device 1108.

At 1506, the process 1500 includes determining a distance between thecomputing device and the device. At 1508, the process 1500 includesdetermining a location of the computing device using the locationinformation and the determined distance. For example, the computingdevice may receive the location information from the location device,and the computing device can determine its location using any of thetechniques described above with respect to FIGS. 2-10. In some examples,the computing device may analyze signals received from the locationdevice, and may determine a distance between the computing device andthe location device based on the signals. For example, the computingdevice may determine the distance based on RSSI measurements, RCPImeasurements, RTT measurements, or the like, as described above. Thecomputing device may further determine distances between it and otherdevices with known locations (e.g., other location devices that may sendthe computing device their location) using similar techniques. Thecomputing device may then perform triangulation, trilateriation, or anyother appropriate location determination technique using the locationinformation of the location device along with the determined distances.

In some embodiments, the process 1500 may include receiving a pluralityof responses, wherein each response includes location information of asender of the response. For example, the computing device may broadcastor transmit the tracking signal so that multiple location devices canreceive the tracking signal. The location devices may then respond withtheir location information so that the computing device can determineits location. For example, responses from multiple location devices mayallow a more accurate and precise location determination for thecomputing device. As another example, responses from multiple locationdevices may be beneficial in the event the computing device is mobileand needs to determine its location at multiple points within a venue asit moves around.

At 1510, the process 1500 includes transmitting the location of thecomputing device and the identifier to the device. The device isconfigured to send the location of the computing device and theidentifier to a network server. Referring again to FIG. 11 as anexample, the device 1104 may determine its location and may transmit itsdetermined location to the location device 1108. The location device1108 may then transmit the location of the device 1104 and/or theidentifier of the device 1104 to the network server. The network servermay store location information corresponding to the location of thecomputing device in a record or profile associated with the computingdevice and/or the user that made the request to locate the device. Forexample, the network server may store the location information in arecord or profile associated with the user and/or the computing devicethat maps the unique identifier of the computing device with thelocation information of the computing device. The record or profile mayinclude the record or profile discussed with respect to FIG. 16. Usingthe location information corresponding to the location of the computingdevice received from the location device, the network server can respondto the user's request with a location of the object that the user wishesto locate. For example, the server may send a response to the user withthe location information for the object. The user may receive a promptor notification from an application, proprietary program, web browser,or other program executed and operated by the user's client device.

Using the techniques described in FIGS. 2-15, a crowd sourced locationdata source may be created, and a device or object may be located usingthe crowd sourced location data source. As described herein, each of thedevices making up the crowd sourced location data source can store itslocation information, and can allow that information to be accessed byother devices that may not have access or the capability to connect withone or more other location data sources (e.g., devices that have WiFi™,Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, infrared (IR), UWB, WiFi-Direct, BLE, or othercommunication capabilities, but no GPS and/or cellular capabilities). Byusing the location information provided by the crowd sourced locationdata source, any device with a transceiver radio can determine itslocation and also report its location to a remote location even if thedevice lacks long range communication capabilities. In some embodiments,a device may need to be registered with a location service in order toaccess location information from a location device. Accordingly, thecrowd sourced location data source may be utilized to provide locationservices to users to allow the users to locate misplaced objects orpeople.

As noted above in the description of FIG. 1, network devices, upon beingpowered on or reset, may be registered with a network (e.g., a cloudnetwork or other external network) and associated with a logical networkwithin a local area network. FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a process1600 for registering one or more devices, such as the network devices102, 104, 106 illustrated in FIG. 1, the network devices 202, 204, 206,208, 210 illustrated in FIGS. 2-3, and 5, or the location devicesillustrated in FIGS. 11-12. As noted above, a location device mayinclude a network device. When multiple network devices and gateways areincluded within a local area network, the network devices and/orgateways may be installed at different times, resulting in thetechniques described with respect to FIG. 16 possibly occurring for eachnetwork device and/or gateway at different points in time. For example,referring to FIG. 1, a user may install network device 102 at a firstpoint in time on a first floor of the user's house. Gateway 110 may alsobe located on the first floor, resulting in the network device 102pairing with gateway 110. The user may later install gateway 112 andnetwork device 106 on a second floor of the user's home, resulting inthe network device 106 pairing with gateway 112.

At 1602, a network device may detect one or more gateways upon beingpowered on or reset. In some embodiments, a provisioning process mayoccur when the network device is powered on or reset and detected by anaccess device (e.g., access device 108, 216, 1206, 1208, 1212, 1214,and/or 1216). During the provisioning process, the access device maydirectly communicate with the network device. In some embodiments,direct communication between network devices and an access device mayoccur using various communications protocols, such as Universal Plug andPlay (UPnP), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiFi-Direct,WiFi, Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), sound frequencies, and/or the like.

The provisioning process may include pairing the network device with agateway and registering the gateway, network device, and access devicewith a server, such as a server located within the cloud network 114.For example, upon being powered on or reset to factory settings, thenetwork device may send or broadcast identification information to oneor more access devices. The identification information may be sentduring a discovery process. For example, the identification informationmay be sent in response to a discovery request from an access device. Insome cases, the identification information may include a name of thenetwork device.

An application, program, or the like that is installed on and executedby the access device may receive the identification information from thenetwork device. When the application on the access device is launched bya user, the access device may display the identification information forselection by the user. Once the network device identificationinformation is selected, the access device may send a signal to thenetwork device indicating that it has been selected. The network devicemay then send to the access device a list of gateways that are detectedby the network device. The access device may receive and display thelist of gateways. In some embodiments, the list of gateways includesmultiple gateways (e.g., gateways 110 and 112) that are located withinthe local area network. The user may select the gateway that the userwishes for the network device to pair. For example, the gateway thatprovides the best signal strength for the network device may beselected. The access device may then prompt the user to enter logininformation that is required for accessing the network signals providedby the selected gateway. For example, the login information may be thesame information that was originally set up to access the gatewaynetwork signals (e.g., when the gateway was initially installed). Onceentered, the access device may send the login information to the networkdevice. The network device may use the login information to pair withthe selected gateway. As one example, network device 102 and networkdevice 104 may be paired with gateway 110, and network device 106 may bepaired with gateway 112.

Once paired with a gateway, the network device may be registered with anexternal network (e.g., cloud network 114, external network 214, or thelike). For example, the access device (e.g., via the application,program, or the like) may instruct the network device to register withthe cloud network upon receiving confirmation from the network devicethat it has been successfully paired with a gateway. At 1604, thenetwork device may obtain credentials from the gateway as part of theregistration process. For example, network device 102 may obtaincredentials from gateway 110. At a same or later point in time, networkdevices 104 and 106 may obtain credentials from gateways 110 and 112,respectively. In some embodiments, the credentials may include a SSID ofthe local area network and a MAC address of the gateway. An SSIDreceived from two gateways (e.g., gateways 110, 112) may be the same dueto the gateways both being within the same local area network. In somecases, the SSID of the two gateways may be different. The MAC address ofeach of the gateways may be unique to each gateway. As a result of eachgateway having a unique MAC address, the credentials obtained from agateway may be unique to that particular gateway. One of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate that other credentials may be obtained from agateway, such as an Internet Protocol address, or the like.

The network device may then send the gateway credentials to the cloudnetwork at 1606. For example, the network devices 102, 104, 106 may sendcredentials for the gateway with which each is paired to the serverlocated within the cloud network 114. For example, network device 102may transmit the credentials obtained from gateway 110 to the server,and network device 106 may transmit the credentials obtained fromgateway 112 to the server. In some embodiments, the network device mayalso send information relating to the network device (e.g., MAC address,serial number, make, model number, firmware version, and/or an interfacemodule identifier, or the like) to the server, and/or informationrelating to the access device (e.g., MAC address, serial number,application unique identifier, or the like) to the server. In someembodiments, the communication of the credentials, the network deviceinformation, and/or the access device information sent from the networkdevice to the cloud network server may be in a Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP) format, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)format, a secure Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) format, or thelike. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that othercommunication formats may be used to communicate between the networkdevice and the cloud network server.

Once the credentials, network device information, and/or access deviceinformation are received by the server, the server may register eachgateway as a logical network within the local area network and maygenerate a network ID for each logical network. For example, the servermay register the gateway 110 as a first logical network. During theregistration process, the server may generate a first network ID foridentifying the first logical network. As noted above, one of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that any number of gateways may bepresent within the local area network, and thus that any number oflogical networks may be registered for the local area network. Theserver may further generate a first set of security keys forauthenticating the network device and the access device. For example,the server may generate a unique key for the network device 102 and aseparate unique key for the access device 108.

In some embodiments, as previously described, network device 104 mayalso be paired with gateway 110 at the same or a later point in time asthe network device 102. During registration of the network device 104,the server may determine that the access device 108 has already beenregistered with another network device (e.g., network device 102) thatis associated with the same logical network of gateway 110. In suchembodiments, the server may retrieve the first network ID that was usedin registering the first logical network. The server may also generate anew unique security key for the network device 104, and may retrieve theunique key that was previously generated for the access device 108 whenregistering the gateway 110 as the first logical network.

The gateway 112 may also be registered by the server as a second logicalnetwork with a second network ID. A second set of security keys may begenerated for the network device 106 and the access device 108. Forexample, the server may generate a unique security key for the networkdevice 106 and a unique security key for the access device 108 as itrelates to the second logical network. In some embodiments, the gatewaymay 112 be installed at a later point in time after the gateway 110 isinstalled, and thus may be registered as the second logical network atthe later point in time.

A record or profile may then be created for associating each network IDwith the credentials of a corresponding gateway, the correspondingnetwork device(s), and the access device. For example, the server of thecloud network 114 may associate the first network ID with thecredentials of gateway 110. Similarly, the server may associate thesecond network ID with the credentials of gateway 112. In someembodiments, the server performs the association by generating andstoring a record including the network ID, the set of security keys, thegateway credentials, the network devices associated with the network ID(e.g., MAC address or serial number of a network device), the accessdevices associated with the network ID (e.g., MAC address, serialnumber, application unique identifier, or the like), and/or any otherinformation relevant to the network devices and/or gateways. Otherrelevant information may include location information corresponding to alocation of any of the devices. In one example, the server may store thefirst network ID and the first set of security keys in a first record ata first memory space (e.g., in Flash, DRAM, a database, or the like)along with the SSID and MAC address for gateway 110 and an identifier ofthe network devices 102 and/or 104. The server may also store the secondnetwork ID and the second set of security keys in a second record at asecond memory space along with the SSID and MAC address for gateway 112and an identifier of the network device 106. In some embodiments, anexample of a network device identifier may include a MAC address of thenetwork device, a serial number of the network device, a universallyunique identifier (UUID), a globally unique identifier (GUID), a uniquedevice identifier (UDID), or any other unique identifier.

Each of the first and second network IDs may include a unique number oralphanumeric string generated sequentially or randomly. For example, thefirst time a network device and an associated gateway are registered onthe cloud network 114, the unique network ID for the logical network ofthe gateway may start with 7000000. Each subsequent logical network thatis created may be a sequential increment of the initial network ID(e.g., 7000001, 7000002, 7000003, etc.). As another example, the networkID may be generated by a random or pseudo-random number generator. Oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other techniques forgenerating a unique ID may be used. The technique used to generate thenetwork IDs may be dependent on a type of database that is included inthe cloud network 114. For example, different databases may havedifferent proprietary mechanisms for creating a unique identifier.

The set of keys generated for each logical network may be generatedusing database specific technique. For example, a MySQL technique may beused to generate the sets of keys. Each key may include a universallyunique identifier (UUID), a globally unique identifier (GUID), a uniquedevice identifier (UDID), or the like that may include letters and/ornumbers. As described above, for each logical network, the server maygenerate a unique key for a network device and a separate unique key foran access device.

At 1608, the network device may receive the network ID and the set ofsecurity keys. For example, once the server has generated a record orprofile associating the network device 102 with the first logicalnetwork, the server may transmit the first network ID and the first setof security keys to the network device 102. The network device 102 maystore the first network ID and one or more keys of the first set ofkeys. For example, the network device 102 may store the unique securitykey that was created by the server for the network device 102.

As noted previously, the network devices 102, 104, 106 and gateways 110,112 may be installed at different times. For example, in someembodiments, network device 104 may be installed at a point in timeafter the first logical network is created based on the pairing betweengateway 110 and network device 102. In such embodiments, upon beingpowered on, the network device 104 may pair with gateway 110, obtaincredentials from gateway 110, and transmit the credentials to the serverin the cloud network 114 using similar techniques as those describedabove. The server may associate the network device 104 with thepreviously generated first network ID. As described above, the servermay also generate a new unique security key for the network device 104,and may retrieve the unique key that was previously generated for theaccess device 108 when registering the first logical network. Thenetwork device 104 may then receive and store the first network ID andthe security keys from the server.

At 1610, the network device may send the network ID and the set ofsecurity keys to the access device. For example, the network device 102may send to the access device 108 the first network ID and the uniquesecurity key generated for the access device 108. The network device 102and the access device 108 may then communicate with the cloud networkserver using the first network ID and each device's unique key. In someembodiments, the network device and the access device may generate asignature using their respective security key. The signature is sent tothe cloud network server along with a communication from the networkdevice or access device. The cloud network server may process thesignature in order to authenticate each device, as described below. Thenetwork device and access device may use different techniques togenerate a signature.

A network device may generate a signature using its uniquely generatedsecurity key. For example, the signature may be expressed as:Authorization=MacAddress“:”Signature“:”ExpirationTime. The Authorizationterm may be an attribute, and the MacAddress, Signature, andExpirationTime terms may include values for the Authorization attribute.In particular, the MacAddress value may include the MAC address of thenetwork device, which may include a unique alphanumeric or numericstring. The network device may retrieve its MAC address from memory andplace it in the MacAddress field. The Signature value may be expressedas: Signature=Base64(HMAC-SHA1(PrivateKey, StringToSign)). The Signaturevalue may include an alphanumeric or numeric string. HMAC-SHA1 is anopen source technique that includes a Hash-based Message AuthenticationCode (HMAC) using a SHA1 hash function. The HMAC-SHA1 technique uses thevalues PrivateKey and StringToSign as inputs. The PrivateKey inputincludes the unique security key that was generated by the server forthe network device. The StringToSign input may be expressed asStringToSign=MacAddress+“\n”+SerialNumber+“\n” +ExpirationTime.Accordingly, the StringToSign input is generated by appending a serialnumber of the network device and an expiration time to the networkdevice's MAC address. The ExpirationTime term may indicate the period oftime for which the signature is valid. In some embodiments, theExpirationTime term may include a current time at which the signature isgenerated plus period of time for which the signature is valid. In oneexample, the ExpirationTime term may be expressed asExpirationTime=Number of seconds since Jan. 1 , 1970.

The network device may place the signature in a data packet fortransmission with a communication signal to the cloud network server.The network device may also place the network ID in the data packet. Thesignature and the network ID, if included, may be used by the cloudnetwork server to verify that the network device is associated with thelogical network. In some embodiments, a signature is provided with eachcommunication sent from the network device to the server. Once thesignature is received by the server, the server generates a signatureusing the same expression as that used by the network device. Forexample, the server may retrieve the network device's key and otherrelevant information from storage and generate the signature using thekey and the other information using the expression described above. Theserver then verifies whether the signatures match. Upon determining thatthe signatures match, the server authenticates the network device'scommunication.

An access device may also generate a signature using its uniquelygenerated security key. For example, the access device signature may beexpressed as: Authorization=SDU UniqueId“:”Signature“:”ExpirationTime.The Authorization term may be an attribute, and the SDU UniqueId,Signature, and ExpirationTime terms may include values for theAuthorization attribute. The SDU UniqueId term may include a uniquephone identifier. The SDU UniqueId value may depend on the type ofaccess device that is used and the type of values that may be accessedand/or generated by the type of access device. In some cases, one typeof access device may not allow an application to access a uniqueidentifier of the access device (e.g., a serial number, UUID, or thelike). In such cases, the SDU UniqueId value may include a valuegenerated by an application or program installed on and executed on theaccess device that is used to access the network device. The value maybe unique to the application or program that generated the value. Inother cases, another type of access device may allow an application toaccess a unique identifier of the access device. In such cases, the SDUUniqueId value may include a value that is unique to the access deviceitself, such as a serial number, UUID, or the like. In this example, theaccess device may retrieve the unique value from storage within theaccess device. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatother unique identifiers may be used to uniquely identify the accessdevice. The Signature value may be expressed as:Signature=Base64(HMAC-SHA1(PrivateKey, StringToSign)). Using thisexpression, the input to the HMAC-SHA1 technique may include aPrivateKey term and a StringToSign term. The PrivateKey input includesthe unique security key that was generated by the server for the accessdevice with regard to a particular logical network. The StringToSigninput may be expressed as StringToSign=UniqueId+“\n”+“\n”+ExpirationTime. The StringToSign value is different from the StringToSign valuegenerated by network device in that no serial number is included.Accordingly, the StringToSign input is generated by appending anexpiration time to the access device's unique identifier. TheExpirationTime term may indicate the period of time for which thesignature is valid, similar to that above for the signature generated bythe network device.

The access device may place the signature in a data packet and maytransmit the data packet to the cloud network server with acommunication signal. The network device may also place the network IDin the data packet. The signature and the network ID, if included, maybe used by the cloud network server to verify that the access device isassociated with the logical network and authorized to communicate withone or more network devices associated with the logical network. In someembodiments, a signature is provided with each communication sent fromthe access device to the server. The cloud server may receive thesignature and may generate a signature using the same expression as thatused by the access device. For example, the server may retrieve theaccess device's key and other relevant information from storage andgenerate the signature using the key and the other information using theexpression described above. The server then verifies whether thesignatures match. Upon determining that the signatures match, the serverauthenticates the access device and allows it to communicate with one ormore of the network devices associated with logical network.

Once the provisioning process is completed, the access device may accessthe network devices locally via a gateway (e.g., gateway usingcommunication signal 118) or remotely via the cloud network (e.g., cloudnetwork 114 using communication signal 120). In some embodiments, thecommunication between the access device and the cloud network may be aHTTP or HTTPS communication. One of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that other communication mechanisms may be used tocommunicate between the access device and the cloud network.

In some embodiments, a user may create an account with login informationthat is used to authenticate the user and allow access to the networkdevices. For example, once an account is created, a user may enter thelogin information in order to access a network device in a logicalnetwork.

In some embodiments, an accountless authentication process may beperformed so that the user can access one or more network devices withina logical network without having to enter network device logincredentials each time access is requested. While located locally withinthe local area network, an access device may be authenticated based onthe access device's authentication with the logical network. Forexample, if the access device has authorized access to the logicalnetwork (e.g., a WiFi network provided by a gateway), the networkdevices paired with that logical network may allow the access device toconnect to them without requiring a login. Accordingly, only users ofaccess devices that have authorization to access the logical network areauthorized to access network devices within the logical network, andthese users are authorized without having to provide login credentialsfor the network devices.

An accountless authentication process may also be performed when theuser is remote so that the user can access network devices within thelogical network, using an access device, without having to enter networkdevice login credentials. While remote, the access device may access thenetwork devices in the local area network using an external network,such as a cloud network, the Internet, or the like. One or more gatewaysmay provide the network devices and/or access device connected to thelocal area network with access to the external network. To allowaccountless authentication, a cloud network server may provide a networkID and/or one or more keys to a network device and/or to the accessdevice (e.g., running an application, program, or the like), asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 16. For example, as describedabove, a unique key may be generated for the network device and aseparate unique key may be generated for the access device. The keys maybe specifically encrypted with unique information identifiable only tothe network device and the access device. The network device and theaccess device may be authenticated using the network ID and/or eachdevice's corresponding key each time the network device or access deviceattempts to access the cloud network server.

The network 100 may enable a user to monitor and/or control operation ofthe devices 102 and 104. For example, a user may monitor and/or controloperation of devices by interacting with a visual interface of thegateway 110 (i.e., a web page for gateway 110) and/or a visual interfacerendered on a display of an access device, such as access device 108. Insome embodiments, an application may be run on the access device. Theapplication may cause the access device to present a graphical interfacethat includes a visual interface for each device accessible on thenetwork 100.

A network device may generate and/or provide a “status” of the networkdevice. In certain embodiments, the status or state of a network devicecan be indicated on a visual interface on the access device, for examplewithin the tile with text and/or graphically. The status of the networkdevice can change based on time (e.g., a period, an interval, or othertime schedule). The status of a network device may be any piece ofinformation pertinent to that particular network device. The status of anetwork device may be any changeable variable of that particular networkdevice. For example, the status of a network device may include a stateof the-network device itself (e.g., on or off) or how the network deviceis situated within the network with respect to the other network andother network devices throughout the network. For example, the status ofa network device may refer to the network device's proximity to anothernetwork device and/or its ability to communicate with another networkdevice because of the relative signal strength between the two networkdevices. In certain embodiments, the status can include a value or someother information indicating a unit of measure for a setting or anattribute related to operation of a device connected to the networkdevice. The setting or the attribute can be adjustable within a range ofvalues. For example, the device connected to the network device can be alight bulb and the status can include a value corresponding tobrightness (e.g., a percentage of total brightness) emitted by the lightbulb when the light bulb is powered-on. In another example, the devicecan be a motion sensor and the status can include a value correspondingto sensitivity of the sensor in a range of values between 0 to 100 whenthe sensor is powered on. In yet another example, the device can be afan and the status can include a value corresponding to a speed of thefan on a scale of 0 to 100 when the fan is powered-on.

As described above, upon being powered on or reset, the-network devices102 and/or 104 may be registered with the cloud network 114 andassociated with a logical network within the local area network 100.Similarly, upon being powered or switched off or otherwise beingdisconnected from the network 100, the status of the-network device 102would be known and stored by a cache (not shown) associated with thenetwork 100. For example, cloud network 114 may include storage (e.g.cache) that stores the status of the network devices within each localarea network 100 it is connected to and/or provides access to. Inanother example, the gateway 110 may include storage that stores thestatus of the network devices within each local area network it isconnected to and/or provides access to. More specifically, the statusstored in the cache may include a status table which indicates thecurrent status of each network device (as of its last communication witheach network device). A status table may include all statuses ofeach-network device, or individual storage tables for each local areanetwork or other subset of its network devices/networks. In oneembodiment, a change in status may prompt the-network device to push itschange in in status to the cloud network 114 for storage or updating ofthe cloud's stored status table. In another embodiment, cloud network114 and/or gateway 110 may continuously (or periodically) communicatewith each-network device to check to see if its status has changed.

In some embodiments, a network device (e.g. network device 102 and/or104) may, upon connecting to the local area network 100, check thestatus of the-network devices on the network 100. In other embodiments,one-network device may check the status of one or more of the othernetwork devices on the network 100. The network device may seek to checkthe status of another network device or access device for variousreasons, including to display such status(es) to a user on a display orotherwise, to check whether that network device belongs to the samenetwork, to synchronize or coordinate any scheduled executions, toupdate an attribute based on adjustment received among others. Forexample, a network device or user may desire to check various statuseson a connected device, such as power level, timestamped activity history(e.g. temperature for a thermostat, motion for a motion detector, etc.),how long it has been active/turned on, attributes for operation of theconnected device (e.g., a brightness of a lamp, a speed of a fan, or asensitivity of a sensor, etc.), among many others.

In some embodiments, a device, such as the access device 108 shown inFIG. 1 or the gateway 110, connected to the network 100 can communicatean updated status of a network device, such as the network devices 102and/or 104. The updated status can be communicated via the network 100and can include an adjustment that affects a status of the networkdevice. The adjustment can include an amount of change to one or moreattributes, one or more settings, or a combination thereof related tooperation of the network device connected to the network 100. The accessdevice 108 or the gateway 110 can present a graphical interface that canreceive input corresponding to an adjustment to a status of a device. Insome embodiments, the updated status of the network device communicatedto the network 100 can be received by a network device to which theupdated status applies, or can be received by the gateway 110, the cloudnetwork 110, or any other device in communication with the network. Ifthe device cannot directly receive the updated status, it can alsoreceive the updated status from the cloud network 114, the gateway 110,or the other devices in the network 100. In some embodiments, thenetwork device can communicate its updated status to the network 100,which can indicate whether the status has been updated. The updatedstatus can be received by the access device or any other device in thenetwork 100. In some embodiments where the access device is not locatedwithin the network 100, the access device may not immediately receivethe updated status. The updated status can be stored by the cloudnetwork 114 or the gateway 110 for communication to the access device.The status of the network device can indicate whether an adjustment wasmade based on an adjustment in a setting or an attribute transmitted bythe access device. Alternatively, or additionally, the access device canreceive, from any other network device connected to the network 100, astatus update indicating whether the adjustment was in fact made at anetwork device.

A network device seeking to check the status of any other device on thenetwork 100 may communicate with the cloud network 114, to which alldevices on the network 100 are connected either directly or indirectly.Since the cloud network 114 and/or the gateway 110 can store an updatedtable/list of the statuses of each of the network devices 102 and 104within the requesting network's local area network, the cloud network114 and/or gateway 110 may communicate such status data to the networkdevices 102 and 104 and the access device. For example, if-networkdevices 102 and 104 were to each turn on and communicate their statusesto cloud network 114, cloud network 114 may analyze the status ofnetwork devices 102 and 104 and communicate to-network devices 102 and104 that they are each connected to the same local area network 100.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a network 1700, according toembodiments of the present invention. Specifically, the network 1700 canbe a wireless local area network enabling an access device tocommunicate with network devices to control adjustment of attributesrelated to operation of the network devices. Network 1700 includesnetwork device 1702, network device 1704, network device 1706, andnetwork device 1708. The network 1700 also includes access device 108.In other words, the network 1700 may be substantially similar to thenetwork 100 except that access device 108 has been turned on near thenetwork 1700, to which it is associated, or has entered an area to whichthe network 1700 can reach.

When access device 108 can enter the network 1700 as shown in FIG. 17,access device 108 may be authenticated based on the access device'sauthentication with the logical network or may otherwise commencecommunication with cloud network 114. Access device 108 may alsocommunicate notification of its presence or other information directlyto other network devices 1702-1708 within network 1700, as shown in FIG.17 by communication paths 1730. As noted, such communication may includevarious communications protocols, such as Universal Plug and Play(UPnP), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiFi-Direct, WiFi,Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), sound frequencies, and/or the like. Forexample, access device 108 may communicate to all other devices innetwork 1700, including network device 1702, network device 1704,network device 1706, and network device 1708, information/data regardingits status. Such status data may include the fact that it is present andturned on, or other status data/information. At any time that networkdevices 1702, 1704, 1706, and 1708 recognize that access device 108 ispresent at network 1700, the network devices may communicate back toaccess device 108. For example, the network devices may send anacknowledgement (e.g., ACK signal) back to access device 108 to confirmthat they received the status data sent by access device 108. Thenetwork devices may also send their own status data to access device108.

While network devices 1702-1708 and access device 108 may each receivecommunication from other network devices around the network 1700,including the status of each of those network devices, network devices1702-1708 and/or access device 108 may be continuously scanning network1700 (including, for example, running discovery algorithms) to determinewhether any devices within the network have moved, turned on/off orotherwise added to or subtracted from the network 1700, or haveotherwise changed statuses.

Since network devices 1702-1708 and access device 108 may each receivecommunication from other devices around network 1700, including thestatus of each of those devices, each network device within network 1700may know the status of each other network device in the network 1700.For example, access device 108 or devices 1702-1708 may not be requiredto communicate with cloud network 114 in order to obtain one or more ofsuch statuses. Since cloud network 114 is an external network and may beremote from network 1700, communication between network devices withinthe network 1700 and cloud 114 may take more time than communicationbetween two devices within network 1700. For example, communicationbetween devices within network 1700 may take anywhere from 1 millisecondto 100 milliseconds, while communication between a device within network1700 and the cloud network 114 may take anywhere from 50 milliseconds to1 second or more). Furthermore, if a network device is retrievinginformation from cloud 114, the request must travel from the networkdevice to cloud network 114, and then the information must travel backfrom cloud network 114 to the network device. This process may doublethe latency caused by retrieving information with cloud 114. Therefore,devices within the network 1700 may choose to send and receive/retrievestatuses directly with other devices within the network 1700 instead ofcommunicating such information via cloud network 114. When a networkdevice receives status data from another network device on the device'slocal area network 1700, it may store that status data so that it mayretrieve and use that status data at a later time.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a network 1800, according toembodiments of the present invention. The local area network 1800 mayinclude network device 1702, network device 1704, network device 1706,network device 1708, and access device 108. FIG. 18 also illustratesthat one or more network devices 1702-1708 and/or access device 108 mayinclude a storage device, such as a cache, for storing data, includingdata regarding its own status and data regarding statuses received fromthe other devices within local area network 1800. For example, accessdevice 108 may, after being powered up, broadcast/send its status tonetwork device 1708 via communication 1834. Network device 1708 maystore the status data received from access device 108 until the nexttime access device 108 updates its status by sending new/updated statusdata to network device 1708. Cache may be used for storage withinnetwork devices 1702-1708 and/or access devices within the local areanetwork 1800 so that each of the devices may be able to quickly retrievethe data it needs from storage. An application operating on the accessdevice 108 can access the cache to obtain information to display thevisual interface for each network device 1702-1708 registered within thenetwork 1800. Although a caching device may be used to store such datawithin the network and/or access devices within the local area network1800, other types of storage may be used.

The cache can contain a known interface list including interfaceinformation for different, known types of devices. The known list caninclude a record for each network device known by the access device 108to exist on the network 1800. When an application is run on the accessdevice 108, the access device 108 can access the known interfaces in thecache to present the display of access device 108. The display canpresent one or more visual interfaces, each corresponding to a networkdevice known to exist on the network 1800. Each visual interface can begenerated based on a visual interface module corresponding to eachdevice on the network 1800. In an example, the display can include avisual interface (e.g., a module tile) for each device in the network1800 having an interface in the known interface list.

The cache can also contain known status information about each networkdevice in the known device list. When the application is run on theaccess device 108, the access device 108 can access the known statusinformation in the cache to present a status display. The access device108 can populate each tile with an indicator representing the respectiveknown status information for each device in the known device list. Thestatus display can include an indicator of one or more attributes, oneor more settings, or a combination thereof related to operation of eachdevice in the network 1800. For example, the status display can includea speed of a fan (e.g., a fan speed of 56 in a range of values between 0and 100) of the network device 1702 (e.g., a fan), a value ofsensitivity of a sensor (e.g., a value of 34 in a range of values 0-100)for the network device 1704 (e.g., a motion sensor), a value ofbrightness (e.g., 65 percent brightness) for the network device 1706(e.g., a light bulb), and a value of temperature (e.g. a slow cooker).Although shown as having a single indicator for an attribute or asetting related to operation of a network device, the status display canpresent a plurality of indicators corresponding to different attributesand/or settings related to operation of a network device.

In some embodiments, the cache can include other information about anetwork device. The other information can indicate a device's firmwareversion, last known firmware update status, connectivity to cloudstatus, registration status (e.g., whether the network device has a keyor not), and other such information. The cache can include informationthat could be used for troubleshooting. In embodiments described below,the access device 108 can access status information from another otherdevice on the network 1800 and can use that information to update itsown cache, update the status display, and/or pass the information to thecloud network 114 and/or the gateway 110 for trouble shooting and/orstorage.

Even though each network device may know and store (e.g. in cache) thestate of each other network device within local area network 1800, anetwork device may not know when another network device changes status(e.g. turns/powers off). However, network devices and/or access deviceswithin local area network 1800 may broadcast/send any updates in itsstatus to other devices on the network. For example, if network device1702 changes status, it may send status data to the other networkdevices, such as network devices 1704, 1706 and 1708 and to accessdevice 108. However, network device 1702 may not know which devices toupdate since the other devices may change statuses periodically (e.g.turn off).

Therefore, a network or access device may subscribe to another networkor access device within local area network 1800. For example, networkdevices 1704, 1706 and 1708 and access device 108 may subscribe tostatus data notifications/updates from network device 1702. Such asubscription may be registered for upon initial connection with networkdevice 1702 when network device 1702 first enters local area network1800 or at any other time after network device 1702 has been associatedwith local area network 1800. Subscriptions may be controlled to lastindefinitely or may expire after a certain predetermined period of timeafter initial subscription. However, network devices may re-subscribe toanother network device before or after their previous subscription hasexpired.

Subscriptions between network device and/or access devices may beregistered, similar to registering a network device upon initialentrance into the local area network, including security registrationsdescribed herein with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. For example, a networkdevice may send its unique security key, which it may have stored alongwith its network ID after being registered on the network, to a networkdevice to which it wants to subscribe. However, subscriptions may takeon many other forms, including sending a different form ofidentification to a network device to which a network device wants tosubscribe. However, subscriptions may take on many other forms,including sending a different form of identification to a network deviceto which a network device wants to subscribe.

Upon receiving a subscription from another network device or accessdevice, the device being subscribed to may store a list of the devicesthat subscribed to it. For example, network device 1702 may store a listof network devices 1704, 1706 and 1708 and access device 108 after thosedevices subscribe to network device 1702. Then, when network device 1702undergoes a change in status, network device 1702 may send that changein status to only the devices that had previously subscribed to it butwhere the subscription had not yet expired. Furthermore, according tosome embodiments, the subscription list of a network device may beautomatically updated if that device receives notification that anotherdevice has left the range of the local area network, either from thatdevice itself or from a different device. Therefore, the various deviceswithin a given local area network, such as network 1800, each containcontinuously updated statuses of each other device on the network andobtain those statuses and updates through direct communication withoutnecessary use of the cloud.

FIG. 19 illustrates an access device 108 that is located remotely fromnetwork 1900 (e.g. local area network), according to embodiments of thepresent invention. Local area network 1900 includes gateway 110 andnetwork devices 1902 and 1904 (which may be, for example, the same asany of network devices 1702-1708 in FIGS. 17 and 18), as shown in FIG.19. However, network 1900 may also include a variety of other networkdevices and one or more access devices directly connected to network1900. Gateway 110 is connected to cloud network 114, and allows networkdevices 1902 and 1904 to connect to cloud 114, the internet, or otherexternal networks via gateway 110. In some embodiments, the networkdevices 1902 and 1904 may include home automation devices that allow auser to access, control, and/or configure various home applianceslocated within the user's home, such as a television, radio, light,microwave, iron, and/or the like.

Access device 108 is not directly connected to network 1900. Instead,access device 108 is external to network 1900 and may connect to cloudnetwork 114 and to network 1900 via cloud network 114. As noted, networkdevices 1902 and 1904 may change status on a periodic basis. In someembodiments, even when external to and not directly connected to network1900, an access device may request to check the status of the devices onthe network. When access device 108 seeks to check the status of anydevice on the network, the access device 108 may transmit/send acommunication 1936 to the cloud network 114, to which all devices on thenetwork are connected either directly or indirectly via gateway 110.Since the cloud network 114 stores an updated table/list of the statusesof each of the devices within the requesting access device's network,the cloud network 114 may transmit a communication 1938 of such statusdata to the access device 108. For example, after network devices 1902and 1904 are turned on, authenticated and are a part of network 1900,network devices 1902 and 1904 may communicate their statuses to cloudnetwork 114. Furthermore, any time the status of network devices 1902and 1904 changes, the device that incurred a status change may push/sendinformation (e.g. an indication) of that status change to cloud network114. Cloud network 114 may store, in cache 1926 or otherwise, thestatuses (which may be time stamped in metadata or otherwise) of networkdevices 1902 and 1904. Therefore, when access device 108 requests fromcloud network 114 the statuses of devices on network 1900, cloud 114 maysend its most recently stored/updated statuses to access device 108.

To obtain the most updated status data of devices within network 1900,cloud 114 may, upon receiving a request for status data related tonetwork devices 1902 and 1904, transmit/send a communication 1932 (e.g.request, query, etc.) for such status data to network devices 1902 and1904 via gateway 110. Once network devices 1902 and 1904 receive thisrequest, network devices 1902 and 1904 may send a communication 1934(e.g. updated status data) to cloud 114 to replace the previouslystored/cached statuses in cache 1926. Upon receipt of updated statusdata 1934 from network 1900, cloud 114 may send a communication 1938 ofsuch status data to the access device 108.

However, the process of cloud network 114 requesting updated statusesfrom network devices 1902 and 1904 within network 1900 may cause latencywithin the system. More specifically, the time required for cloudnetwork 114 to request updated statuses from network devices 1902 and1904 and to in turn receive updated statuses from network devices 1902and 1904 may be substantially greater than the time required for cloudnetwork 114 to send its currently stored statuses (without beingupdated) for network devices 1902 and 1904 to access device 108. Forexample, of the total time required for access device 108 to receiveupdated statuses from cloud network 114, 80% or more of that total timemay include cloud network 114 requesting updated statuses from networkdevices 1902 and 1904. On the other hand, of the total time required foraccess device 108 to receive updated statuses from cloud network 114,20% or more of that total time may include the status data beingtransmitted from cloud network 114 to access device 108. Since amajority of the process required for access device 108 to request andreceive status data for network devices 1902 and 1904 is thetransmission of data between cloud 114 and network devices 1902 and1904, the access device 108 and cloud network 114 may maximizeefficiency by minimizing the effect of the transmission of data betweencloud 114 and network devices 1902 and 1904 on the whole process/system.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a front view of a network device 2000.FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a side view of the network device2000. The network device 2000 may include any of the network devices102, 104, or 106 described herein. In some embodiments, the networkdevice 2000 may be a home automation network device. For example, thenetwork device 2000 may include a home automation switch that may becoupled with a home appliance. A user may wirelessly access the networkdevice 2000 in order to access, control, and/or configure various homeappliances located within the user's home. For instance, the user mayremotely control appliances such as a television, radio, light,microwave, iron, space heater, wall A/C unit, washer, dryer, fan, and/orthe like.

In some embodiments, the network device 2000 may include a WiFi enabledswitch that connects home appliances and other electronic devices to acompatible 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi network. The network device 2000 may thusallow users to locally or remotely turn devices on or off from anywhere,program customized notifications, and/or change device status. Thenetwork device 2000 may further allow a user to create custom schedulesor have devices respond to sunrise or sunset.

The network device 2000 includes an power switch 2002 that may bedepressed in order to turn the network device 2000 on and off. In someembodiments, a light source may be integrated with or located behind thepower switch. For example, a light-emitting diode (LED) may be locatedon a circuit board under the power button 2002. The light source may beilluminated when the network device 2000 is powered on, and may not beilluminated when the network device 2000 is powered off

The network device 2000 further includes a communications signalindicator 2004. The signal indicator 2004 may indicate whether thenetwork device 2000 has access to a communications signal, such as aWiFi signal. For example, the signal indicator 2004 may include a lightsource (e.g., a LED) that illuminates when the network device 2000 isconnected to a communications signal. The light source may depictdifferent colors or other characteristics (e.g., flashing, dimming, orthe like) to indicate different levels of signal strength or mode ofoperation.

The network device 2000 includes a restore button 2110. The restorebutton 2110 may allow a user to reset the network device 2000 to factorydefault settings. For example, upon being depressed, the restore button2110 may cause all software on the device to be reset to the settingsthat the network device 2000 included when purchased from themanufacturer.

The network device 2000 further includes a plug 2108 and an outlet 2006.The plug 2108 allows the network device 2000 to be plugged into a wallsocket, such as a socket providing 120V, 220V, or the like. In turn, anappliance may be plugged into the outlet 2006. Once the network device2000 is registered according to the techniques described above, anappliance plugged into the socket 2006 may be controlled by a user usingan access device (e.g., access device 108).

FIG. 22 is an example of a block diagram of the network device 2000depicting different hardware and/or software components of the networkdevice 2000. As described above with respect to FIGS. 20 and 21, thenetwork device 2000 includes the outlet 2006, the plug 2108, the powerbutton 2002, the restore button 2110, and the communications signalindicator 2004. The network device 2000 also includes light source 2228associated with the power button 2002. As previously described, thelight source 2228 may be illuminated when the network device 2000 ispowered on.

The network device 2000 further includes a relay 2210. The relay 2210 isa switch that controls whether power is relayed from the plug 2108 tothe outlet 2006. The relay 2210 may be controlled either manually usingthe power button 2002 or remotely using wireless communication signals.For example, when the power button 2002 is in an ON position, the relay2210 may be closed so that power is relayed from the plug 2108 to theoutlet 2006. When the power button 2002 is in an OFF position, the relay2210 may be opened so that current is unable to flow from the plug 2108to the outlet 2006. As another example, an application or programrunning on an access device may transmit a signal that causes the relay2210 to be opened or closed. For instance, an access application maydisplay a graphical interface on the access device that includes a powerbutton. The user may tap or otherwise select the power button, and theaccess application may send a communication signal (e.g., over a WiFinetwork) to the network device 2000 instructing the network device 2000to open or close the relay 2210.

The network device 2000 further includes flash memory 2220 and dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) 2222. The flash memory 2220 may be used tostore instructions or code relating to an operating system, one or moreapplications, and any firmware. The flash memory 2220 may includenonvolatile memory so that any firmware or other program can be canupdated. In the event the network device 2000 loses power, informationstored in the flash memory 2220 may be retained. The DRAM 2222 may storevarious other types of information needed to run the network device2000, such as all runtime instructions or code.

The network device 2000 further includes a CPU/Radio 2218. The CPU/Radio2218 controls the operations of the network device 2000. For example,the CPU/Radio 2218 may execute various applications or programs storedin the flash memory 2220 and/or the dynamic random access memory (DRAM)2222. The CPU/Radio 2218 may also receive input from the varioushardware and software components, interpret the input, and perform oneor more functions in response to the input. As one example, theCPU/Radio 2218 may determine whether the power button 2002 has beenpressed, and determines whether the relay 2210 needs to be opened orclosed. The CPU/Radio 2218 may further perform all communicationsfunctions in order to allow the network device 2000 to communicate withother network devices, one or more gateways, one or more locationdevices, a cloud network, and/or one or more access devices. While theCPU and radio of the network device 2000 are shown to be combined in theCPU/Radio 2218, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that,in some embodiments, the CPU and radio may be separately located withinthe network device 2000. For example, CPU circuitry may be situated at aseparate location on a circuit board from the location of radiocircuitry, the CPU circuitry may be located on a different circuit boardfrom the radio circuitry, or the like. Further, the network device 2000may include multiple radios that are configured to communicate using oneor more communication protocols, such as any combination of a WiFi™transceiver radio, a Bluetooth™ transceiver radio, a Zigbee™ transceiverradio, a UWB transceiver radio, a WiFi-Direct transceiver radio, a BLEtransceiver radio, and/or any other wireless network transceiver radioor interface. In some embodiments, the network device 2000 does notinclude a cellular network transceiver radio or interface, and thus maynot be configured to directly communicate with a cellular network. Insome embodiments, the network device 2000 may include a cellular networktransceiver radio, and may be configured to communicate with a cellularnetwork using the cellular network transceiver radio.

The network device 2000 may communicate with other devices and/ornetworks via antenna 2224. For example, antenna 2224 may include a 2.4GHz antenna, a 5 GHz antenna, or the like, that can transmit and receiveWiFi communications signals. In some embodiments, the antenna 2224 maycomprise or coupled with a wireless transceiver. The network device 2000may include other types of antennas that can communicate Bluetooth®signals, Zigbee® signals, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) signals, WiFi-Directsignals, BLE signals, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the antenna2224 may be configured to communicate different types of signals, suchas the WiFi signals, Bluetooth® signals, Zigbee® signals, UWB signals,WiFi-Direct signals, BLE signals, and/or the like. In some embodiments,the network device 2000 may include multiple antennas for communicatingthe different types of communication signals. As one example, thenetwork device 2000 may include both a 2.4 GHz antenna and a 5 GHzantenna.

The network device 2000 further includes a driver 2216, a switchingpower supply 2212, and a voltage regulator 2214. The driver 2216 mayinclude instructions or code that can be used to translate controlsignals or commands received from applications running on the DRAM 2222to commands that the various hardware components in the network device2000 can understand. In some embodiments, the driver 2216 may include anambient application running on the DRAM 2222. The switching power supply2212 may be used to transfer power from the outlet in which the plug2108 is connected to the various loads of the network device 2000 (e.g.,CPU/Radio 2218). The switching power supply 2212 may efficiently convertthe voltage and current characteristics of the electrical power to alevel that is appropriate for the components of the network device 2000.For example, the switching power supply 2212 may perform AC-DCconversion. In some embodiments, the switching power supply 2212 may beused to control the power that is relayed from the plug 2108 to theoutlet 2006. The voltage regulator 2214 may be used to convert thevoltage output from the switching power supply 2212 to a lower voltageusable by the CPU/Radio 2218. For example, the voltage regulator 2214may regulate the DC voltage from 5V to 3.3V.

In some examples, the network device 2000 further includes a locationengine (not shown) and a location storage device (not shown). Thelocation engine is configured to perform one or more of the stepsdescribed above with respect to FIG. 9, 10, 13, or 15. For example, thelocation engine may obtain location information and one or more signalsreceived by the antenna 2224 and/or a wireless transceiver. The locationinformation may include location coordinates of an access device oranother network device. The one or more signals may be received from theaccess device or the other network device. The location engine maydetermine a location of the network device 2000 using the locationinformation, as described above with respect to FIG. 9. The locationstorage device may store the location of the network device 2000. Inanother example, the location engine may provide for display an icon ofa network device. An input device may receive input indicating aposition of the network device 2000, as described above with respect toFIG. 10. The location storage device may store the location. Antenna2224 and/or a transceiver may transmit the position to another networkdevice or to an access device. In another example, the location enginemay obtain or determine a location of a device that a requestor hasrequested the network device 2000 to locate, as described above withrespect to FIG. 13. The antenna 2224 and/or a transceiver may transmitthe obtained location to a server. In yet another example, the locationengine may generate a tracking signal that includes an identifier of thenetwork device. The location engine may obtain a response (received bythe antenna 2224 and/or transceiver) that includes location informationof a device. The location engine may then determine a location of thenetwork device 2000 using the location information of the device and adetermined distance, as described above with respect to FIG. 15. Theantenna 2224 and/or transceiver may then transmit the location of thenetwork device 2000 and the identifier to the device.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory2220 and/or the DRAM 2222. The network device 2000 can also comprisesoftware elements (e.g., located within the memory), including, forexample, an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries,and/or other code, such as one or more application programs, which maycomprise computer programs implementing the functions provided byvarious embodiments, and/or may be designed to implement methods and/orconfigure systems, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the processes discussed above,for example as described with respect to FIG. 9, 10, 13, or 15, may beimplemented as code and/or instructions executable by a computer (and/ora processor within a computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/orinstructions can be used to configure and/or adapt a computer (or otherdevice) to perform one or more operations in accordance with thedescribed methods. Such functions or code may include code to performthe steps described above with respect to FIG. 9, 10, 13, or 15. Forexample, the network device 2000 may be used as a location device or atracking device. The memory, such as the flash memory 2220 and/or theDRAM 2222, may be a processor-readable memory and/or a computer-readablememory that stores software code (programming code, instructions, etc.)configured to cause a processor(s) within the CPU/Radio 2218 to performthe functions described. In other embodiments, one or more of thefunctions described may be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory2220 and/or the DRAM 2222. In some cases, the storage medium might beincorporated within a computer system, such as the CPU/Radio 2218. Inother embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from a computersystem (e.g., a removable medium, such as a compact disc), and/orprovided in an installation package, such that the storage medium can beused to program, configure and/or adapt a computer with theinstructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take the formof executable code, which is executable by the network device 2000and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the network device 2000 (e.g.,using any of a variety of generally available compilers, installationprograms, compression/ decompression utilities, etc.) then takes theform of executable code.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further,connection to other access or computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

It should be appreciated that the network device 2000 may have othercomponents than those depicted in FIGS. 20-22. Further, the embodimentshown in the figures are only one example of a network device that mayincorporate an embodiment of the invention. In some other embodiments,network device 2000 may have more or fewer components than shown in thefigure, may combine two or more components, or may have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of components.

FIG. 23 is a schematic illustration of a local area network 2300including a network device 2302 that includes an appliance 2350. Thenetwork device 2302 can comprise an interface device 2304 and theappliance 2350 connected by an appliance interface 2308. The applianceinterface 2308 can include a data connection 2318 and a power connection2316. The data connection 2318 can be a serial connection (e.g., RS-232,USB, or other), or any other suitable data connection. The interfacedevice 2304 can be fully powered by the appliance 2302 through the powerconnection 2316, or can have a separate source of power.

The appliance 2350 can be any suitable electric device, such as a crockpot, space heater, an iron, a washing machine, a dishwasher, a lamp, aradio, a computer, an amplifier, or another electrical device.Additional examples of suitable electrical devices include electricaldevices incorporated into or with non-electrical devices, such as anactuator system in an electrically-actuated deadbolt, a sensing systemin a seat cushion, or other suitable electrical device incorporated intoor with a non-electrical device. The appliance 2350 can be adapted tooperate with the interface device 2304. The appliance 2350 can be anyfinite state machine. The appliance 2350 can, but need not, know orstore one or more states related to the appliance. For example, theappliance 2350 may know or store data related to whether the appliance2350 is turned on, how long the appliance has been on (or off), amongother status data.

The interface device 2304 can be positioned within the housing of theappliance 2350, or can be attached externally to the appliance 2350. Theinterface device 2304 can be removable from the appliance 2350, or canbe permanently installed in or on the appliance 2350.

The interface device 2304 can be connected to the local area network2300 through a network interface. The interface device 2304 can beconnected by a wired or wireless connection (e.g., WiFi, Zigbee, orothers described herein or well known). In some embodiments, theinterface device 2304 can be connected directly to the cloud network 114through a cellular internet connection (e.g., EDGE, LTE, or others).

The interface device 2304 can communicate with another network device,an access device 108, or another client device through the networkinterface 2306. The interface device 2304 can transmit a statusinformation signal 2310 with status information to the access device108, and the access device 108 can transmit a network device controlsignal 2312 to the interface device 2304. The status information signal2310 and the network device control signal 2312 can be transmittedbetween the interface device 2304 and the access device 108 using atelecommunications network (e.g., a cellular network, or other suitablebroadband network), using a local area network 2300 (e.g., through agateway 110), or using the cloud network 114, although such a signal maypass through an intermediary device or network to do so.

The interface device 2304 can interpret the network device controlsignal 2312 and perform actions based on the contents of the networkdevice control signal 2312. The network device control signal 2312 caninclude commands that can be performed by the interface device 2304itself. The network device control signal 2312 can also include commandsthat are to be performed by the appliance 2350. Commands that are to beperformed by the appliance 2350 can include commands like turn on oroff, set a desired temperature (e.g., heat up or cool down to 215° F. orany other temperature), or other suitable commands depending on theparticular appliance. The interface device 2304 can interpret thenetwork device control signal 2312 and can send out a command 2322,through the data connection 2318 of the appliance interface 2308, basedon the network device control signal 2312. The appliance 2350 can thenperform the command indicated in the network device control signal 2312.

The interface device 2304 can also transmit commands to the appliance2350 that are not based on a network device control signal received fromthe access device 108, but are rather based on programming in theinterface device 2304. Examples of such commands can include commands toupdate a communication rate, commands to check a state of the appliance2350, commands to set or get a clock time of the appliance 2350, or anyother suitable commands.

The interface device 2304 can receive, through the data connection 2318of the appliance interface 2308, a response (e.g., response 2320) to anycommand from the appliance 2350. In some examples, the response 2320 caninclude an indication that the command 2322 was received. In someexamples, the response may include only an indication that a command isreceived (e.g., an ACK). In some examples, the response 2320 can includeinformation for some value on the appliance 2350, such as an “on/off”state, a serial number, a product identification, a manufactureridentification, a temperature, a time since live, a setting, or anyother value retrievable from the appliance 2350. The interface device2304 can interpret the value and can send information about the value(e.g., the state of the appliance is “on,” the temperature of theappliance, the time since the appliance first turned on, or otherinformation) as status information (e.g. using status information signal2310) to the access device 108. Additionally, the interface device 2304can send status information about itself (e.g., time since live,supplied power, signal strength, and others) as status information (e.g.using status information signal 2310) to the access device 108.

The interface device 2304 can also use responses (e.g., response 2320)from the appliance 2350 to perform additional functions at the interfacedevice 2304, such as error handling. In some cases, when performing theadditional functions, the interface device 2304 does not transmit anystatus information 2310 to the access device 108 based on thoseparticular responses.

The access device 108 can include one or more display tiles (e.g.,display tile 2314) for displaying information and controls correspondingto the network device 102.

In some embodiments, the interface device 2304 can transmit a heartbeatcommand (e.g., command 2322) over the data connection 2318 to theappliance 2302 to determine whether the appliance 2350 is workingproperly and/or in a state of readiness. If the interface device 2304determines that the appliance 2350 has had some sort of failure (e.g.,the appliance 2350 sends a response 2320 indicating a failure or theinterface device 2304 does not receive any response 2320), the interfacedevice 2304 can take corrective action (e.g., restarting the appliance2350 or an element of the appliance 2350), can log the event, or canalert the user).

FIG. 24 depicts a block diagram of a network device including aninterface device 2304 attached to an appliance 2350 according to oneembodiment. The interface device 2304 can include connector 2412 thatinteracts with connector 2432 of the appliance 2350.

The interface device 2304 can include flash memory 2404 and dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) 2406. The flash memory 2404 may be used tostore instructions or code relating to an operating system, one or moreapplications, and any firmware. The flash memory 2404 can be used tostore a cache. The flash memory 2404 may include nonvolatile memory sothat any firmware or other program can be can updated. In the event theinterface device 2304 loses power, information stored in the flashmemory 2404 may be retained. The DRAM 2406 may store various other typesof information needed to run the interface device 2304, such as allruntime instructions or code. The flash memory 2404 or DRAM 2406 or acombination thereof may include all instructions necessary tocommunicate with an appliance 2350, including all instructions necessaryto communicate using the appliance serial protocol disclosed herein.

The interface device 2304 further includes a CPU/Radio 2402. TheCPU/Radio 2402 can control the operations of the interface device 2304.For example, the CPU/Radio 2402 may execute various applications orprograms stored in the flash memory 2404 and/or the dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM) 2406. The CPU/Radio 2402 may also receive inputfrom the appliance 2350, interpret the input, and perform one or morefunctions in response to the input. The CPU/Radio 2402 may furtherperform all communications functions in order to allow the interfacedevice 2304 to communicate with other network devices, one or moregateways, a cloud network, and/or one or more access devices. Theinterface device 2304 may communicate with other devices and/or networksvia antenna 2426. For example, antenna 2426 may include a 2.4 GHzantenna that can transmit and receive WiFi communications signals 2428.The antenna 2426 may include other types of antennas that cancommunicate Bluetooth® signals, Zigbee® signals, Ultra-Wideband (UWB)signals, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the interface device 2304may include multiple antennas for communicating different types ofcommunication signals.

The CPU/Radio 2402 can include at least one universal asynchronousreceiver/transmitter (UART) 2410. The CPU/Radio 2303 can use the UART2410 to send and receive serial communications. The CPU/Radio 2303 cansend data through a transmit line 2422 and a receive data through areceive line 2424. The CPU/Radio 2303 can send and receive data throughthe transmit line 2422 and receive line 2424 using a serial protocol,such as RS232. The CPU/Radio 2402 can also include an input/output(GPIO) line 2414, a restore line 2416, an LED 1 line 2418, and an LED 2line 2420. The CPU/Radio 2402 can have additional or fewer lines asnecessary. The GPIO line 2414 can be used for any suitable function,such as powering an indicator light on an appliance 2350 or accepting aninput from the appliance 2350. A signal sent on the restore line 2416can be used to restore the CPU/Radio 2402 and/or the interface device2304 to factory defaults. The LED 1 line 2418 and LED 2 line 2420 can beused to power first and second LEDs that can be used to indicate variousstatuses, such as whether the interface device has a network connectionand whether the interface device is powered on.

The interface device 2304 further includes a voltage regulator 2408. Thevoltage regulator 2408 may be used to convert the voltage output fromthe appliance 2350 to a voltage usable by the CPU/Radio 2402. Forexample, the voltage regulator 2408 may regulate the DC voltage from 5Vto 3.3V. The voltage regulator 2408 can be supplied with power from apower line 2430.

Each of the interface lines, including the GPIO line 2414, the restoreline 2416, the LED 1 line 2418, the LED 2 line 2420, the transmit line2422, the receive line 2424, the power line 2430, and any additionallines, can be routed through connector 2412. Connector 2412 can be aproprietary or universal connector. Any appliance 2350 to which theinterface device 2304 is attached through the connector 2412 can havethe necessary hardware to make use of the interface lines, such as toprovide power to the power line 2430 and to provide the first and secondLEDs that are driven by the LED 1 line 2418 and LED 2 line 2420.

In alternate embodiments, some interface lines are not routed throughthe connector 2412. For example, the power line 2430 can be routed to apower supply attached directly to the interface device 2304, and the LED1 line 2418 and LED 2 line 2420 can be routed to first and second LEDslocated within the interface device 2304.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or moreinstructions or code in memory, such as the flash memory 2404 and/or theDRAM 2406. The interface device 2304 can also comprise software elements(e.g., located within the memory), including, for example, an operatingsystem, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or other code, such asone or more application programs, which may comprise computer programsimplementing the functions provided by various embodiments, and/or maybe designed to implement methods and/or configure systems, as describedherein. Merely by way of example, one or more procedures described withrespect to the processes discussed below may be implemented as codeand/or instructions executable by a computer (and/or a processor withina computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructions can beused to configure and/or adapt a device (e.g. a specialty computer) toperform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.Such functions or code may include code to perform various stepsdescribed below. The memory, such as the flash memory 2404 and/or theDRAM 2406, may be a processor-readable memory and/or a computer-readablememory that stores software code (programming code, instructions, etc.)configured to cause a processor(s) within the CPU/Radio 2402 to performthe functions described. In other embodiments, one or more of thefunctions described may be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on acomputer-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory 2404 and/orthe DRAM 2406. In some cases, the storage medium might be incorporatedwithin a computer system, such as the CPU/Radio 2402. In otherembodiments, the storage medium might be separate from a computer system(e.g., a removable medium, such as a compact disc), and/or provided inan installation package, such that the storage medium can be used toprogram, configure and/or adapt a device (e.g. a computer) with theinstructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take the formof executable code, which is executable by the interface device 2304and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the interface device 2304 (e.g.,using any of a variety of compilers, installation programs,compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form ofexecutable code.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further,connection to other access or computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

The interface device 2304 may have other components than those depictedin FIG. 24. Further, the embodiment shown in the figures are only oneexample of an interface device that may incorporate an embodiment of theinvention. In some other embodiments, interface device 2304 may havemore or fewer components than shown in the figure, may combine two ormore components, or may have a different configuration or arrangement ofcomponents.

The appliance 2350 can have a processor 2434. The processor 2434 can bea microcontroller, such as a Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC). Theappliance 2350 can include a memory 2436 (e.g., a flash memory or other)that is readable by the processor 2434. The memory 2436 can includeinstructions enabling the innate functionality of the appliance 2350,such as heating and timing for a crock pot.

The appliance 2350 can include a user interface 2438. The user interface2438 can provide buttons, displays, LEDs, knobs, and other input andoutput elements necessary for a user to interact with the appliance2350. For example, a user interface 2438 for a slow cooker can include adisplay, a power button, a temperature adjustment button, and a startbutton. The user interface 2438 can be driven and/or monitored by theprocessor 2434. In some embodiments, the appliance 2350 is “headless” orhas no user interface 2438.

The appliance 2350 can include a power supply 2440 that can providepower to the voltage regulator 2438 of the interface device 2304 throughconnector 2432, connector 2412, and power line 2430.

The appliance 2350 can include an interface device user interfaceextension 2442. The interface device user interface extension 2442 caninclude various input and output elements that are passed directly tothe interface device 2304 without being processed by the processor 2434.Examples of input and output elements of the interface device userinterface extension 2442 include LEDs associated with the LED 1 line2418 and LED 2 line 2420, a hardware restore button associated with therestore line 2416, or any other suitable input/output element.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of a gateway 2500. The gateway 2500 mayinclude a range extending device, a router, an access point, a modem,and/or any other device that provides network access among one or morecomputing devices and/or external networks. For example, the gateway2500 may include a router gateway with access point and routerfunctionality, and may further include an Ethernet switch and/or amodem. As another example, the gateway 2500 may include a rangeextending gateway that may be used to improve signal range and strengthwithin a network by taking an existing signal from another gateway(e.g., a router gateway, an access point, or the like) andrebroadcasting the signal to create a second logical network.

The gateway 2500 includes hardware elements that can be electricallycoupled via a bus 2518 (or may otherwise be in communication, asappropriate). In one embodiment, the bus 2518 can be used for theprocessor(s) 2502 to communicate between cores and/or with the memory2512. The hardware elements may include one or more processors 2502,including without limitation one or more general-purpose processorsand/or one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signalprocessing chips, graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like);one or more input devices 2516, which can include without limitation oneor more buttons, a keyboard, a keypad, a touch sensitive screen, a touchpad, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 2514, which caninclude, without limitation, a display, light or sound indicators,and/or the like.

The gateway 2500 may include one or more wireless transceivers 2506 and2520 connected to the bus 2518. The wireless transceiver 2506 may beoperable to receive wireless signals (e.g., a wireless signal 2510) viaan antenna 2508. The wireless transceivers 2520 may be operable toreceive wireless signals (e.g., a wireless signal 2514) via an antenna2522. The wireless transceivers 2506 and 2520 may each include a WiFitransceiver radio designed to transmit and receive signals usingfrequencies of a specific frequency band, which may be referred toherein as “WiFi circuits.” For example, wireless transceiver 2506 mayinclude a 2.4 GHz WiFi circuit, and wireless transceiver 2520 mayinclude a 5 GHz WiFi circuit. Accordingly, the gateway 2500 may includea single WiFi circuit for a first WiFi frequency band, and a single WiFicircuit for a second WiFi frequency band. In some embodiments, thegateway 2500 may include multiple wireless transceivers (not shown) foreach available frequency band. The antennas 2508 and 2522 may includemultiple band antennas that can transmit and/or receive signals overdifferent frequency bands.

The gateway 2500 may further include radio frequency (RF) circuit 2526.In some embodiments, the wireless transceivers 2506 and 2520 may beintegrated with or coupled to the RF circuit 2526 so that the RF circuit2526 includes the wireless transceivers 2506 and 2520. In someembodiments, the wireless transceivers 2506 and 2520 and the RF circuit2526 are separate components. The RF circuit 2526 may include a RFamplifier that may amplify signals received over antennas 2508 and 2522.The RF circuit 2526 may also include a power controller that may be usedto adjust signal amplification by the RF amplifier. The power controllermay be implemented using hardware, firmware, software, or anycombination thereof.

The wireless signals 2510 and 2524 may be transmitted via a wirelessnetwork. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be any wirelessnetwork such as a wireless local area network (e.g., local area network100), such as WiFi™, a Personal Access Network (PAN), such asBluetooth®, Zigbee®, or UWB, or a cellular network (e.g. a GSM, WCDMA,LTE, CDMA2000 network). Wireless transceivers 2506 and 2520 may beconfigured to receive various radio frequency (RF) signals (e.g.,signals 2510 and 2524) via antennas 2508 and 2524, respectively, fromone or more other gateways, access devices, network devices, cloudnetworks, and/or the like. Gateway 2500 may also be configured to decodeand/or decrypt, via the DSP 2504 and/or processor(s) 2502, varioussignals received from one or more gateways, network devices, cloudnetworks, and/or the like.

The gateway 2500 may include a power supply (not shown) that can powerthe various components of the gateway 2500. The power supply may includea switch-mode power supply, a linear power supply, a push-pull powersupply, or any other suitable type of power supply. In some embodiments,the gateway 2500 may include multiple power supplies. For example, aswitch-mode power supply may be used to condition input power, and alinear power supply may be used to power the RF circuit 2526. The powersupply may be configured to operate over various ranges of appropriateinput voltages.

The gateway 2500 may further include (and/or be in communication with)one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums or storagedevices (e.g., memory 2512), which can comprise, without limitation,local and/or network accessible storage, and/or can include, withoutlimitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storage device, asolid-state storage device such as a random access memory (“RAM”) and/ora read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateableand/or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement anyappropriate data storage, including without limitation, various filesystems, database structures, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in memory 2512,such as RAM, ROM, FLASH, or disc drive, and executed by processor(s)2502 or DSP 2504. The gateway 2500 can also comprise software elements(e.g., located within the memory 2512), including, for example, anoperating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs, which may comprisecomputer programs implementing the functions provided by variousembodiments, and/or may be designed to implement methods and/orconfigure systems, as described herein. Such code and/or instructionscan be used to configure and/or adapt a computer (or other device) toperform one or more operations in accordance with various methods. Thememory 2512 may be a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,processor-readable memory, and/or a computer-readable memory that storesthe one or more computer-program products configured to cause theprocessor(s) 2502 to perform the various functions. In otherembodiments, one or more of the various functions may be performed inhardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory 2512.In some cases, the storage medium might be incorporated within acomputer system. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure and/or adapt a computerwith the instructions/code stored thereon. These instructions of one ormore computer-program products might take the form of executable code,which is executable by the gateway 2500 and/or might take the form ofsource and/or installable code, which, upon compilation and/orinstallation on the gateway 2500 (e.g., using any of a variety ofgenerally available compilers, installation programs, compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form of executable code.

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of an access device 2600. The accessdevice 2600 may include any human-to-machine interface with networkconnection capability that allows access to a network. For example, theaccess device 2600 may include a stand-alone interface (e.g., a cellulartelephone, a smartphone, a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable devicesuch as a smart watch, a wall panel, a keypad, or the like), aninterface that is built into an appliance or other device (e.g.,television, refrigerator, security system, game console, browser, or thelike), a speech or gesture interface (e.g., Kinect™ sensor, Wiimote™, orthe like), an internet of things (IoT) device interface (e.g., anInternet enabled appliance such as a wall switch, a control interface,or the like). The access device 2600 includes hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 2618 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). In one embodiment, the bus 2618 can beused for the processor(s) 2602 to communicate between cores and/or withthe memory 2612. The hardware elements may include one or moreprocessors 2602, including without limitation one or moregeneral-purpose processors and/or one or more special-purpose processors(such as digital signal processing chips, graphics accelerationprocessors, and/or the like); one or more input devices 2616, which caninclude without limitation a camera, a mouse, a keyboard, a touchsensitive screen, a touch pad, a keypad, and/or the like; and one ormore output devices 2614, which can include, without limitation, adisplay, a printer, and/or the like.

The access device 2600 may include one or more wireless transceivers2606 connected to the bus 2618. The wireless transceiver 2606 may beoperable to receive wireless signals via antenna 2608 (e.g., signal2610). The wireless signal 2610 may be transmitted via a wirelessnetwork. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be any wirelessnetwork such as a wireless local area network (e.g., local area network100), such as WiFi, a Personal Access Network (PAN), such as Bluetooth®,Zigbee®, or UWB, or a cellular network (e.g. a GSM, WCDMA, LTE, CDMA2000network). Wireless transceiver 2606 may be configured to receive variousradio frequency (RF) signals (e.g., signal 2610) via antenna 2608 fromone or more gateways, network devices, other access devices, cloudnetworks, and/or the like. Access device 2600 may also be configured todecode and/or decrypt, via the DSP 2604 and/or processor(s) 2602,various signals received from one or more gateways, network devices,other access devices, cloud networks, and/or the like.

The access device 2600 further includes a location engine 2620 and alocation storage device 2622. The location engine 2620 is configured toperform one or more of the steps described above with respect to FIG. 9,10, 13, or 15. For example, the location engine 2620 may obtain locationinformation and one or more signals received by the wireless transceiver2606. The location information may include location coordinates ofanother access device, and the one or more signals may be received fromthe other access device. The location engine 2620 may determine alocation of the access device 2600 using the location information, asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 9. The location storage device 2622may store the location of the access device 2600. In another example,the location engine 2620 may provide for display an icon of a networkdevice. The input device 2616 or the transceiver 2606 may receive inputindicating a position of the network device, as described above withrespect to FIG. 10. The transceiver 2606 may then transmit the positionto the network device. In another example, the location engine 2620 mayobtain or determine a location of a device that a requestor hasrequested the access device 2600 to locate, as described above withrespect to FIG. 13. The transceiver 2606 may transmit the obtainedlocation to a server. In yet another example, the location engine 2620may generate a tracking signal that includes an identifier of the accessdevice. The location engine 2620 may obtain a response, received by thetransceiver 2606, that includes location information of a device. Thelocation engine 2620 may then determine a location of the access device2600 using the location information and a determined distance, asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 15. The transceiver 2606 may thentransmit the location of the access device and the identifier to thedevice.

The access device 2600 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums orstorage devices (e.g., memory 2612), which can comprise, withoutlimitation, local and/or network accessible storage, and/or can include,without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storagedevice, a solid-state storage device such as a random access memory(“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable,flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices may be configuredto implement any appropriate data storage, including without limitation,various file systems, database structures, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in memory 2612,such as RAM, ROM, FLASH, or disc drive, and executed by processor(s)2602 or DSP 2604. The access device 2600 can also comprise softwareelements (e.g., located within the memory 2612), including, for example,an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs, which may comprisecomputer programs implementing the functions provided by variousembodiments, and/or may be designed to implement methods and/orconfigure systems, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the processes discussed above,for example as described with respect to FIG. 9, 10, 13, or 15, may beimplemented as code and/or instructions executable by a computer (and/ora processor within a computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/orinstructions can be used to configure and/or adapt a computer (or otherdevice) to perform one or more operations in accordance with thedescribed methods. Such functions or code may include code to performthe steps described above with respect to FIG. 9, 10, 13, or 15. Forexample, the access device 2600 may be used as a location device or atracking device. The memory 2612 may be a non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium, processor-readable memory, and/or acomputer-readable memory that stores the one or more computer-programproducts configured to cause the processor(s) 2602 to perform thefunctions described. In other embodiments, one or more of the functionsdescribed may be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory 2612.In some cases, the storage medium might be incorporated within acomputer system. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure and/or adapt a computerwith the instructions/code stored thereon. These instructions of one ormore computer-program products might take the form of executable code,which is executable by the access device 2600 and/or might take the formof source and/or installable code, which, upon compilation and/orinstallation on the access device 2600 (e.g., using any of a variety ofgenerally available compilers, installation programs, compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form of executable code.

FIG. 27 illustrates an example of a server 2700. The server 2700includes hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus2716 (or may otherwise be in communication, as appropriate). In oneembodiment, the bus 2716 can be used for the processor(s) 2702 tocommunicate between cores and/or with the memory 2712. The hardwareelements may include one or more processors 2702 (e.g., one or moredigital signal processing chips, graphics acceleration processors,and/or the like), memory 2712, DSP 2704, a wireless transceiver 2706, abus 2716, and antenna 2708. Furthermore, in addition to the wirelesstransceiver 2706, server 2700 can further include a network interface2714 to communicate with a network (e.g., a local area network, anetwork of a preferred carrier, Internet, a wide area network, or othersuitable network).

The server 2700 further includes a location engine 2718. The locationengine 2718 is configured to perform one or more of the steps describedabove with respect to FIG. 14. For example, the location engine 2718 maydetermine a location device that is present within a geographical area.The location engine 2718 may determine the presence of the locationdevice in view of a location request requesting location of a device, anidentifier of the device, and an identification of the geographical areabeing received by the transceiver 2706. The location engine 2718 cancause the transceiver 2706 to transmit the location request and theidentifier of the device to the location device. The location engine2718 may then obtain a location of the device received by thetransceiver 2706 from the location device, and may cause the transceiver2706 to transmit the location of the device to the requestor devicerequesting location of the device.

The server 2700 may further include (and/or be in communication with)one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums or storagedevices (e.g., memory 2712), which can comprise, without limitation,local and/or network accessible storage, and/or can include, withoutlimitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storage device, asolid-state storage device such as a random access memory (“RAM”) and/ora read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateableand/or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement anyappropriate data storage, including without limitation, various filesystems, database structures, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or more one ormore computer-program products, such as instructions or code, in memory2712, such as RAM, ROM, FLASH, or disc drive, and executed byprocessor(s) 2702 or DSP 2704. The server 2700 can also comprisesoftware elements (e.g., located within the memory), including, forexample, an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries,and/or other code, such as one or more application programs, which maycomprise computer programs implementing the functions provided byvarious embodiments, and/or may be designed to implement various methodsand/or configure various systems, as described herein. Merely by way ofexample, one or more procedures described with respect to the processesdiscussed above, for example as described with respect to FIG. 14, maybe implemented as code and/or instructions executable by a computer(and/or a processor within a computer); in an aspect, then, such codeand/or instructions can be used to configure and/or adapt a computer (orother device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with thedescribed methods. Such functions or code may include code to performthe steps described above with respect to FIG. 14. For example, theserver 2700 may include the network server described above. The memory2712 may be a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,processor-readable memory, and/or a computer-readable memory that storesthe one or more computer-program products configured to cause theprocessor(s) 2702 to perform the functions described. In otherembodiments, one or more functions described herein may be performed inhardware.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further,connection to other access or computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

In the foregoing specification, aspects of the invention are describedwith reference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in theart will recognize that the invention is not limited thereto. Variousfeatures and aspects of the above-described invention may be usedindividually or jointly. Further, embodiments can be utilized in anynumber of environments and applications beyond those described hereinwithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of thespecification. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

In the foregoing description, for the purposes of illustration, methodswere described in a particular order. It should be appreciated that inalternate embodiments, the methods may be performed in a different orderthan that described. It should also be appreciated that the methodsdescribed above may be performed by hardware components or may beembodied in sequences of machine-executable instructions, which may beused to cause a machine, such as a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor or logic circuits programmed with the instructions to performthe methods. These machine-executable instructions may be stored on oneor more machine readable mediums, such as CD-ROMs or other type ofoptical disks, floppy diskettes, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magneticor optical cards, flash memory, or other types of machine-readablemediums suitable for storing electronic instructions. Alternatively, themethods may be performed by a combination of hardware and software.

Where components are described as being configured to perform certainoperations, such configuration can be accomplished, for example, bydesigning electronic circuits or other hardware to perform theoperation, by programming programmable electronic circuits (e.g.,microprocessors, or other suitable electronic circuits) to perform theoperation, or any combination thereof.

While illustrative embodiments of the application have been described indetail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may beotherwise variously embodied and employed, and that the appended claimsare intended to be construed to include such variations, except aslimited by the prior art.

1-12. (canceled)
 13. A computing device, comprising: one or moreprocessors; a transmitter configured to transmit a tracking signal,wherein the tracking signal includes an identifier of the computingdevice; a receiver configured to receive a response, wherein theresponse includes location information of a network device; and anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium containing instructionswhich when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations including: determining a distancebetween the computing device and the network device; and determining alocation of the computing device using the location information and thedetermined distance; wherein the transmitter is configured to transmitthe location of the computing device and the identifier to the networkdevice, wherein the network device is configured to send the location ofthe computing device and the identifier to a network server.
 14. Thecomputing device of claim 13, wherein the computing device furtherincludes a tracking device, and wherein the computing device isintegrated within an object that a user wishes to locate.
 15. Thecomputing device of claim 13, further comprising instructions which whenexecuted on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto perform operations including: periodically transmitting, by thecomputing device, the tracking signal; and receiving, in response to atleast one of the periodic transmissions of the tracking signal, anindication that a location device has a location of the computingdevice.
 16. The computing device of claim 13, wherein determining thedistance between the computing device and the network device includes:analyzing multiple responses received over a period of time from thenetwork device; and determining the distance between the computingdevice and the network device based on analyzing the multiple signalsand using triangulation or trilateration.
 17. The computing device ofclaim 13, further comprising instructions which when executed on the oneor more processors, cause the one or more processors to performoperations including: determining that the computing device is outsideof a communication range with an access device; and transmitting thetracking signal when the computing device is outside of thecommunication range.
 18. The computing device of claim 13, wherein thecomputing device initiates storing of location information datacorresponding to the location of the computing device over time in aprofile associated with the computing device.
 19. The computing deviceof claim 13, further comprising instructions configured to cause the oneor more processors to perform operations including: broadcasting thetracking signal to multiple location devices; and receiving a pluralityof responses, wherein each response includes location information of asender of the response.
 20. A computer-implemented method, comprising:transmitting, from a computing device, a tracking signal, wherein thetracking signal includes an identifier of the computing device;receiving a response, wherein the response includes location informationof a network device; determining a distance between the computing deviceand the network device; determining a location of the computing deviceusing the location information and the determined distance; andtransmitting the location of the computing device and the identifier tothe network device, wherein the network device is configured to send thelocation of the computing device and the identifier to a network server.21. The method of claim 20, wherein the computing device includes atracking device, and wherein the computing device is integrated withinan object that a user wishes to locate.
 22. The method of claim 20,further comprising: periodically transmitting, by the computing device,the tracking signal; and receiving, in response to at least one of theperiodic transmissions of the tracking signal, an indication that alocation device has a location of the computing device.
 23. The methodof claim 20, wherein determining the distance between the computingdevice and the network device includes: analyzing multiple responsesreceived over a period of time from the network device; and determiningthe distance between the computing device and the network device basedon analyzing the multiple signals and using triangulation ortrilateration.
 24. The method of claim 20, further comprising:determining that the computing device is outside of a communicationrange with an access device; and transmitting the tracking signal whenthe computing device is outside of the communication range.
 25. Themethod of claim 20, wherein the computing device initiates storing oflocation information data corresponding to the location of the computingdevice over time in a profile associated with the computing device. 26.The method of claim 20, further comprising: broadcasting the trackingsignal to multiple location devices; and receiving a plurality ofresponses, wherein each response includes location information of asender of the response.
 27. A computer-program product tangibly embodiedin a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of a network device,including instructions configured to cause one or more processors toperform operations including: transmitting a tracking signal, whereinthe tracking signal includes an identifier of a computing device;receiving a response, wherein the response includes location informationof a network device; determining a distance between the computing deviceand the network device; determining a location of the computing deviceusing the location information and the determined distance; andtransmitting the location of the computing device and the identifier tothe network device, wherein the network device is configured to send thelocation of the computing device and the identifier to a network server.28. The computer-program product of claim 27, wherein the computingdevice includes a tracking device, and wherein the computing device isintegrated within an object that a user wishes to locate.
 29. Thecomputer-program product of claim 27, further comprising: periodicallytransmitting, by the computing device, the tracking signal; andreceiving, in response to at least one of the periodic transmissions ofthe tracking signal, an indication that a location device has a locationof the computing device.
 30. The computer-program product of claim 27,wherein determining the distance between the computing device and thenetwork device includes: analyzing multiple responses received over aperiod of time from the network device; and determining the distancebetween the computing device and the network device based on analyzingthe multiple signals and using triangulation or trilateration.
 31. Thecomputer-program product of claim 27, further comprising instructionsconfigured to cause the one or more processors to: determine that thecomputing device is outside of a communication range with an accessdevice; and transmit the tracking signal when the computing device isoutside of the communication range.
 32. The computer-program product ofclaim 27, wherein the computing device initiates storing of locationinformation data corresponding to the location of the computing deviceover time in a profile associated with the computing device